How do you influence busy people? Everyone is locked into a screen these days and with technology automating processes and consumers wanting more for less, knowledge workers have to do more work than they did in the past. Their attention is just not there to engage or absorb content deeply.
As I am working through my day trying to get things done, there are many great companies and individuals I am not thinking about. They are just not on my radar because I haven’t heard from them in a long time or I am not clear on what they do. I have forgotten them.
Every morning my inbox is filled with content that is merely trying to sell me rather than help me. I tend to ignore those vain overtures.
I am sure you are similar in how you move through the overwhelming nature of work today. We don’t want to be bothered or interrupted. However, we do want value. We want answers that help us get things done.
Wasting the Great First Impression
You may have worked very hard to get attention and created a first impression. However, if there is not depth to your presentation and persistence in your messages and content ongoing, then that first impression can fade over time. It’s part of how we think. We tend to give more attention to what is immediate or urgent.
A great first impression is important to start a relationship, but continually connecting and bringing value over time is important to keeping that mind share that has started.
If you want to be known in the mind of the buyer as the person who gets things done or increases customer loyalty or organizes chaos, then that message has to continually be presented. To not be forgotten, your name and what you do has to be associated together in people’s minds. They have to think about you.
When the timing is right then it is not uncommon for your ready buyer to contact you. Your positioning in their mind converged with their perceived need. You cannot necessarily make someone ready. They become ready from circumstances. You can influence this by helping them see things or consider ideas they may not have been looking at previously.
Over time, the lens by which you help them see their problems can start to emphasize a better reality. That gap between what could be and what currently is can be a frustration point that your brand fits perfectly within.
Think about what happens if a person is ruminating on their problems and they have not heard from you until you decide to call months later. There is no relationship. There is only selling. They will feel the tension and you will as well. It is because you did not nurture them and earn trust and credibility over time. You are not seen as the thought leader or the expert.
People are buying every day. They may not be buying from you because you have been forgotten. You may have opened their minds to what is possible, but your competitor that worked hard to establish their credibility in their minds over time will win the business over you if you are forgotten.
If all you are doing is selling, then it is a strategy with a deficit.
How can you be available when your buyers are ready? Would this be important to you?
