I recently shared this story on LinkedIn, and it really resonated with people—so I wanted to share it here as well.
Last week, I had a rare opportunity to spend an entire day in the field with someone I consider a true cold-calling expert. Over the course of the day, we knocked on more than 45 doors—and by the end of it, we had generated 23 qualified leads.
But here’s the thing: the real magic wasn’t in the number of doors or leads. It was something much harder to see—and even harder to master: consistency over time.
At one point, Koert—the expert I was shadowing—pointed to a business we had just visited and said something that really stuck with me:
“This is the 12th or maybe even 16th time I’ve come here in the past year.”
Let that sink in.
Twelve to sixteen times.
And every single time before, the answer was no. The gatekeeper shut him down. No access to the decision-maker. No traction. No results.
Until something shifted.
Around 3 PM that day, we got a call back—from that very company.
Koert’s persistence had finally paid off. His card had made it into the right hands, and it turned out the decision-maker was actively searching for a new supplier.
What followed was a ten-minute phone call where Koert and the prospect realized they were aligned on values, approach, and expectations. Before they hung up, they scheduled a discovery meeting in both their calendars.
The Real Lesson
The hardest part of sales isn’t learning the script. It’s not managing objections. It’s definitely not closing.
👉 It’s consistently showing up and being willing to grind—day in and day out.
That level of grit and repetition is what separates top performers from everyone else. If you can do those two things—show up consistently and keep grinding—you’ll always have a full pipeline. And you’ll outperform 95% of your competition.
So thank you, Koert—not just for the leads, but for the reminder.
Cheers,
Kyle Jager
