Prepare to be patient and take the long term view

Are you frustrated by how long it takes to gain a new customer? Is the time from first chat to full on serious discussion stretching your patience? Does it feel like a marathon, when you’d rather a quick sprint?

On the very odd occasion you might gain a quick win. Unfortunately, the reality is it takes a long time from first handshake to ‘where do I sign’? Long term view

And that’s why you need to take the long term view with many of your marketing activities.

I met Bryan Butterworth for the first time at a networking meeting well over two years ago. We had a pleasant but very brief chat.  This month (750+ days later) I met him again for the second time because he wanted Market Coaching to help him launch Mind Body Breath.

If you had to wait over two years for every prospect to become a client, would you feel FRUSTRATED or are you Prepared to be Patient?

I’d wager a bet that you can’t remember everyone that you met 2 years ago; however there will be some that have remained on your radar.

I wonder how many people can remember you!

The fact is you have to BE PREPARED to be patient. The reason for this is before your new customer signs on the dotted line they need to:

  1. Really understand how it is you can help them.

  2. Decide if you are the type of person they would like to work with. Are you on a similar wave length?

  3. Check out what others say about you. They want to be sure they are going to make the right decision.

To some degree you have control over points 1 – 3 because they can gain the information they want quite quickly by simply visiting to your website or checking you out on social media sites.

That’s assuming your messages are crystal clear  on your website and easy to find.

But you have absolutely no control over point 4:

4.  The timing has to be right for them.

You cannot force someone to buy from you or work with you if they are not ready. And if you do manage to persuade them it may not be as successful as you would have hoped, which could reflect badly on you.

Number 4 means that you need to stay proactively in contact, without being a nuisance. You have to have a process which means that you are PREPARED to be Patient.

Here are 3 ways that you can PREPARE to be patient:

  1. Keep in regular contact via email marketing. Let them know about your latest tips and useful information posted on your website

  2. Add articles to your website that are really helpful to your prospects. This shows them how you could make a difference to them or their business

  3. Connect with them on social media. Send an invitation to connect on LinkedIn. Follow them on Twitter. Like their Facebook page. If you’ve made a good impression they will accept and do the same. Then engage with them and share their content.

These are basic building blocks so that you can stay in touch, build a relationship and be patient until the time is perfect for your new customer.

There’s one more really important ingredient. BE CONSISTENT!

This process must keep rolling, no matter what, if you want to avoid being frustrated.  You will find that people begin to get in contact years after your initial contact.  I know because I’ve worked with lots of people that I’ve only met once; yet many, many months later they get in touch – when the time is right for them.

Bryan understands patience.

An idea has been forming in Bryan’s mind over the last four years, whilst he has been running Tai Chi classes. Next year, Bryan is launching Mind Body Breath, which builds on many of the martial arts concepts he’s been practicing over the past twelve years. His vision is to build a community of followers, helping them make the right choices, take control of their quality of life and ensure they have a tomorrow they can enjoy. He will be doing this through workshops, group courses and one to one courses.

I talked to Bryan about finding ways to build relationships, just as I had done in the intervening years with him. Interestingly, he said that at the same time as meeting me he met someone that absolutely bombarded him with information straight away. It turned him off and he turned them off by hitting unsubscribe and ignoring them on social media.

He liked the drip feed approach. The information was interesting, relevant and helpful and he liked the image I portrayed on social media; engaging and sharing.

I’m prepared to be patient and so are the people and companies I work with.

Are you Prepared to be Patient?

If you want to feel less frustrated and more prepared, let’s have a chat. 07565 382803 or email me.

photo credit: demandaj via photopin cc