I know what you are asking. “Mike, how in the world do you know what my biggest problem is?” My answer to you without missing a beat: “I just do.”
I don’t care if you have a storefront or if you work from your kitchen table. It doesn’t matter if you work out of your attic or out of your car. You all have the same problem. And it’s the same problem I have.
Not enough people know you’re alive.
That’s it. How can I do business with you if I don’t know that you exist. It all begins with visibility. I have to be introduced to you and know that you are in a position to help me. Then and only then can we begin to build a relationship leading to new business.
The reason why you don’t remain visible over time is because you don’t want to appear as being obnoxious or come across as bothersome bore.
You can take this to the bank. As soon as you are out of my sight, you are out of my mind. The truth is I have my own problems. I don’t wake up thinking about you and you don’t make my Top Ten things to worry about.
If you want to do business with me, you have to enter my world and remain visible over time. You must enter, re-enter, and keep on re-entering.
I’m going to introduce to you a rule that I’ve been sharing for the past 25 years. I believe in it wholeheartedly and for lack of a better label, let’s refer to it as The Rule of Seven.
Adopt The Rule of Seven as your daily mantra and you will thank me. What this rule infers is that if you want to do business with me, you must contact me a minimum of seven times in every eighteen-month period. That’s the exact wording of the law… seven times in eighteen months.
But there is nothing magical about the number seven or 18. This rule clearly infers that you need to stay visible … over time.
If you contact me seven times on a Monday, you become obnoxious. If you contact me seven times over a thirty-year period, you become forgettable. You want to space your contacts to satisfy the requirements of visibility and remembrance.
Visibility can be achieved in a number of ways. You can use postcards. You can use e-mail. You can use letters. You can use the telephone. You can come in person. Regardless of your choice of entry, you have to re-enter my life continuously for me to begin feeling comfortable with you.
With comfort comes trust. With trust comes business.
Mike Marchev is always looking for a few more proactive travel professionals to join his Sales and Marketing Club, mike@mikemarchev.com.
*** You want more to think about? Check out my weekly podcast (Miked Up Marchev). Also listed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google, and iHeartRadio.
