It’s often said that it takes 7 or 8 contacts or “touches” before a prospect is ready to buy from you.

The fact is that simply becoming familiar with a name, a face, a logo, or a brand, people grow to feel more comfortable and trusting.

Studies show that we develop preferences for people, places, and things merely because they are familiar. In social psychology this is known as mere-exposure effect or the familiarity principle.

When we are in a supermarket, we are far more likely to buy brands we quickly recognize—even if we have never tried the product before. Advertisers, of course, know this very well.

In sales, you need to plan both long-term and short-term

When a sales culture is too focused on short-term revenue goals, long-term objectives can suffer. The rush to close deals and hit the numbers every month can distract teams from implementing big picture sustainable growth strategies.

Many seasoned producers tell stories about the great client relationships they’ve built after considerable courting. There’s no question that some of the best and most enduring client relationships don’t start to take off until well after the initial sales meeting.

• Sometimes these clients came aboard only when their incumbent agent reached his level of incompetence or moved on to another organization.
• Some accounts don’t engage until a certain event triggers enough dissatisfaction with the status quo.
• Sometimes the traction starts when there’s a change of personnel at a prospect company.

If your sales process doesn’t include strategies for cultivating prospects over time, you’re going to seriously miss out on new business opportunities. Occasional phone calls, email newsletters, and other touch base tactics engender familiarity and help you stay connected with prospects.

And when that steady “drip” of interest and attention eventually pays off, the resulting relationship has a firmer foundation and stronger likelihood to endure.