When you are responsible for marketing a business and there is a lot riding on each sale, there can be pressure to work a sales pitch into each conversation as soon as possible. This is a mistake that will likely hurt your business more than help it. In sales, patience is your greatest ally. One of the most fundamental sales principles is the “Rule of Seven.” Today we’ll address why the rule of seven is important for your sales success.
Have you ever had the experience of someone trying to sell you something you weren’t interested in the very first time they met you? That’s an awkward conversation, isn’t it? You don’t really know them, they don’t really know you. Unless you desperately needed the thing they are selling in that moment you have no reason to listen to the pitch. Do you want YOUR leads to feel that way after you are done talking with them?
The Rule of Seven tells us it takes at least seven touches before a lead is ready to buy. This rule encourages patience in taking time to build trust and impressions before trying to close a sale. It is a rule designed to yield more success in generating revenue and customers in the long term.
The Rule of Seven tells us it takes at least seven touches before a lead is ready to buy. #sales Share on XImagine you walk into a crowded room of people who don’t know you and go up to each person one at a time trying to close a sale. Chances are that a small percentage of people (let’s say 2%) have a deep need for what you are offering right in that moment and they take you up on your pitch. Those people are the low hanging fruit.
It may feel good to get the sales from the low hanging fruit, but it distracts you from the rest of the people in the room. Let’s say that the remaining people in that room are split between two camps: people who just got a negative impression of you and people who might one day have an interest.
The people who got a negative impression is going to be a high percentage. There are various different personality types that leads can fall into, and most require specific types of information or a stronger relationship to the seller in order to want to make a purchase. If you didn’t take that time, you are giving them a bad experience.
The people who might one day have an interest are ready to be nurtured. It would now be up to you to have a process for collecting their contact details and continuing to nurture them until they are ready to buy.
As a general principle, the Rule of Seven tells us that the more positive impressions we have with our audience, the higher the percentage of people who would close or be interested to buy from us if we made an offer. It also tells us that as we have more touch points with our leads, we are lowering the percentage of people who will walk away from us. Now we are starting to give the right information to these people who needed to build a relationship or get more facts before they were rushed into a decision.
Remember that the Rule of Seven is a general sales principle meant to teach us patience. You may find that data shows you a different number of touches is needed for your specific business. For example, if your offerings have a high price point or attract an audience that takes more time to consider, you may need more impressions. Some industries naturally lend to more window shopping and comparison shopping, and you can be ready for that if you have a plan.
The Rule of Seven is a general #sales principle meant to teach us patience. #smb #smallbiz Share on XAs a marketer, you want to build the concepts of nurturing and patience into your process. Get your message out there, inform your audience, get to know them. Give them a reason to trust your brand. Help them see the various angles of how your product, program, or service will benefit them. Then close the sale. There is a certain way to pace these sales conversations, and if you want to learn more about that, read here.
You know you need sales, but don’t put pressure on your audience right away. Because that pressure will make a lot more of them walk away. In the long run, being impatient will hurt your bottom line.
You know you need #sales, but don't put pressure on your audience right away. #smallbiz #smb Share on XSo when you are out there networking, on social media, or anywhere else you are marketing, think about how to apply this rule of seven. Start planning out those touch points and how you will work them into your process. It will be critical for your sales success.