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News
April 2008
Seven deadly sins, seven wonders of the ancient world, Blake’s 7, the seven dwarfs and even the seven-year itch – all include the mystical digit that is amongst the world’s favourite numbers and one thought to posess magical and lucky powers.
Now add the ‘Seven Valuable Contacts’ of selling to create the basis for a strategic approach to increasing sales figures - Technology Sales and Marketing Coach, Terry Forsey crunches the numbers…
“Established wisdom says that, ‘on average’ you need to make Seven Valuable Contacts with a prospect to convert their initial interest into a signed-up customer.
“Now, it is reasonable to assume that if you had a positive first meeting, that constitutes a valuable contact - if that is not the case, then there is no real opportunity for you there!
“To take this initial interest and to achieve a sale, you need, again, ‘on average’ six more valuable contacts. However, it does happen that deals are agreed more quickly than that – so seven can become just two and going the other way, you may need more than seven to be successful.”
But what constitutes a ‘valuable’ contact? Terry explains: “Judgement as to the ‘value’ is made solely by the recipient – the potential customer. If they do not perceive the contact to have been of value it fails! So calling to ask if they’ve reviewed your proposal is unlikely to be considered valuable.”
Terry suggests a few other ways to make ‘valuable contacts’, and have recently published white papers on these topics;
- White Papers – can be a very valuable source of information to customers and prospects alike but ensure the material is interesting, has an educational role and, most importantly, is perceived to be of value! (See the White Paper "How to write a Great White Paper!")
- Newsletter – again needs to contain relevant information. Recruiting a new office manager or moving offices may not be valuable to most readers. (See the White Paper "Ten Tips to produce Outstanding Electronic Newsletters!")
“What is absolutely true is that if you follow this strategy and try to exceed Seven Valuable Contacts for each sale, your success ratio will grow therefore boosting your sales revenues!”
For more information call 01536 771440 or email, terry@forsey.info.
ENDS
