Honestly, I’m amazed by how quickly most people give up when they are trying to sell anything.
This has been brought home to me particularly this week, because I have been contacted by several people asking for advice on how to sell a particular information product by direct mail.
Now, here is the interesting and crucial thing. All of these (so-called) salespeople have got some initial enquiries and sent out a free report. But none of them, as far as I know, have followed up any of their contacts more than once. They’ve sent them the offer once… and then given up.
It takes seven follow-ups, on average, before someone will buy!
Now, most successful marketers understand that the average buyer does not make a purchase until the seventh follow up contact! Yes, you need to follow up a person seven times, on average, before they will buy. Of course, some will tell you they are not interested before the seventh contact – in which case you back off. But most people like to take time before making a purchasing decision.
People like to mull it over. If you contact them only once, then give up, you have lost a potential sale that could easily occur on the fourth, fifth – or 10th follow up.
That’s why all successful Internet marketers use autoresponders to follow up contacts. They write a series of messages and set them up to go out every few days. I know several successful marketers who write 52 follow up messages – one per week for a whole year! It’s easy to see why these marketers are successful. They are continually geting their name out in front of their prospects.
Of course, following up prospects requires work. That’s why most people don’t do it. They would rather winge and moan about how hard it is to sell anything in today’s economy.
Sure, it’s hard to sell. But here’s difference between success and failure – online as well as offline – persistent follow up. Follow up, follow up, and then follow up some more!
See if it doesn’t make a difference to your sales results.