How many times do you need to connect with people to get a response?

If everyone responded to marketing campaigns, there would be a great deal of work to spread around. The truth is that it takes three readings of your information to have it sink in. This does not mean your information only needs to go out three times, it means that there must be at least nine touch points in order to get three reads.

The first few times the ad or information pass in front of a prospects eyes, they may not even notice it. After a few more times, the content becomes a little more familiar and it starts to get noticed. By the ninth time, there is total recognition.

The recognition does not necessarily come at touch point seven, eight, and nine. It could be at various points during the campaign. By why would you want to quit at nine times? The answer is that you would not want to quit and lose the momentum of the campaign that is getting results.

Campaigns can take many forms. The nine repetitions do not all have to be in the same format. A campaign could consist of a direct mail letter, a phone call, an email, a postcard, a trade magazine ad, a sponsorship plus more. If there is a combination of media then only using a particular form just once is not wise. Consider using alternating forms in a series of repetitions. For example send a letter, an ad, and then an email, repeat the sequence at least twice or more. In between think about using the phone to follow-up. Without the follow-up there is no point in doing a marketing campaign. This is where marketing and sales meet.

Constant connection and contact with a potential client will yield much better results when there is a follow-up plan to execute. Follow-u needs to be an essential ingredient with any marketing campaign. It does not matter how good your marketing efforts are and how much of a response you get if the follow-up is lacking. The ability to follow-up makes or breaks deals before they are even negotiated.

Analyze your current habits with follow-up. When attending a networking event, how many business cards do you collect with the intention of making a follow-up call or email? Most people do not get around to the follow-up, in fact 99.9% of event participants just toss the cards in a pile of into a folder without sorting through and figuring out the contacts that would be of benefit to your consulting company.

Every touch point needs to count. Every time there is a connection with a person, there needs to be follow-up. The people you meet will all have a network of others that may need your services. Keep in touch quarterly at the minimum, get new contacts on your mailing list, and make excuses to keep connected. Be consistent, be known, and be in touch.