This is Marketing Mistake #5 of 15. The Rule of 7 comes to mind whenever I talk about persistence.
This rule states: To make an impact in a strangers mind, you must make a connection with them a minimum of seven times in each 18-month period.
Most people quit or give up after the first sign of rejection. A number of sales “professionals,” deciding to give it another shot, quit after try #2. Seven contacts is the secret.
There really is nothing magical about the number seven, but you don’t want to become a nuisance. By airing out your contacts over time you eliminate much of the chance of “bugging” people, i.e. the 18-month time frame.
As long as you contact them with information they consider to be useful, you have little fear of overdoing your welcome. The secret is to “keep on keeping on.” Preferably with good, solid, meaningful information – that is relevant to your prospects.
A popular way of keeping your name in front of your targeted audience is by clipping a meaningful article from a newspaper or magazine and stapling it to your business card. Period. (Oh yeah, and then sending it to someone.) Perhaps keeping with the current trends would involve forwarding a link from a piece of content you come across on the Internet.
You can send a simple one-page letter that contains a column, or two, of easy-to-read news. This is affectionately known as a “newsletter.” Mine is different from your graphically correct, four-color beauties. Mine consists of a letter with some news in it. (How clever am I?)
Whatever you decide to do, it is most important that you don’t become a hit-and-run artist. This is what becomes of most would-be marketers. They start strong and fade fast. You need to develop a process, (or a system,) and stay with it week after week, month after month, year after year.
That is how you earn the reputation of a PERSISTENT sales professional.
Mike Marchev is recognized for his down-to-earth, street-savvy and honest delivery of useful sales and marketing advice, suggestions, tactics and strategies. For a complimentary copy of his Special Report titled: 11 Sales Mistakes You Must Avoid send Mike an email with the word TRO-11 in the Subject Box. mike@mikemarchev.com
