One of the best pieces of business advice I ever received, is just 4 words long. And today I’m going to share it with you, so you can apply it to your marketing.
It’s simply this: Don’t rush the process.
I know. Without a little context, it doesn’t sound particularly useful. But over the years it’s been essential to the way I work and helped clients of mine worldwide enjoy profoundly better results.
Don’t rush the process (in context)
Business owners and marketing professionals tend to be a pretty motivated bunch. We have to be, right? Not only are we motivated, we also believe in the value of our product or service. When you combine motivation with belief, you create a potent mix. An essential, high energy blend that keeps us moving forward and inspires us to persist even when things are tough.
However.
Sometimes that mix of belief and motivation can work against us.
Really?
Yes, really!
For example, we speak with a prospect and immediately see that our product or service is the perfect match for them. We’re now eager to help them make the right decision.
Here’s the thing: There’s a thin line between encouraging someone to make the right decision, and rushing them to decide. When that line is crossed it radically changes how the prospect feels about us. It can quickly lower their confidence, create uncertainty, cause wariness and make them feel apprehensive.
Based on my experience and observations, this seems most likely to be a problem during the follow-up process. If we don’t get a yes or no answer on the day, we need to be spectacularly mindful regarding how soon and how often we follow-up with an email or call. Because different industries have different accepted time-frames for decision making, there’s no universally perfect timing for following-up. So be sure to consider the size of the decision the prospect is making, (financially or in terms of their reputation, etc.) then follow-up accordingly.
Don’t rush the other processes
Obviously, the ‘don’t rush the process’ advice has much wider marketing utility than I’ve mentioned here. It holds true for everything from; building rapport, copywriting and outreach, to growing a valuable network, developing new products and decision making… and that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Important note: Don’t confuse rushing the process with being appropriately proactive.
There are times when we need to be swift. To move quickly. Most opportunities in life and business come with a use-by date. If we take too long, we’re often too late.
The key word here is ‘rush’. The advice is don’t go too fast. Fast is fine. Too fast is rushing.
I hope you find this idea useful. More importantly, I hope you do something with it.
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