Every Halloween, my family freaks out trick-or-treaters with an unusual ritual.
Some people think we’re crazy.
Others love to play along.
Either way, it’s a tradition that’s made us semi-famous in each neighborhood we’ve lived in over the years.
(Actually, it goes back further. My wife’s been doing this since she was a child.)
On the morning of October 31st, we start putting up Christmas decorations.
As you can imagine, kiddies in their costumes are confused and delighted.
Teenagers and parents snap pics and stop for conversations.
We love it.
But we do get some pushback, though. A good percentage of people tell us…
“It’s too early to start thinking about Christmas.”
Which brings us to today’s marketing lesson.
How early is too early to ask for the sale?
This is a question that comes up a lot when I speak with entrepreneurs and budding marketers.
The answer is… probably sooner than you think.
So often, we’re conditioned to believe you have to get someone to “know, like and trust” you before you’ve earned the right to ask for the sale.
Or we’ve been told that we have to GIVE before we ASK.
Something about jabbing… jabbing… and more jabbing before anything else.
There is some truth to those concepts.
But people don’t buy just because they know, like, or trust you. Otherwise most of us would give all our money to our mothers.
No, people buy what they desire.
If you’re selling a product or service that:
- relieves their fears and frustrations…
- solves their pains and problems…
- helps them reach their dreams and desires…
You don’t have to wait long to give them an opportunity to buy.
It can happen in the first email in a welcome sequence.
It can happen directly in a Facebook ad.
Don’t be fooled.
When you make the right offer to the right person, the right time is probably now.
Keep this in mind…
The classic AIDA formula still applies.
You have to get attention and interest before you can direct desire toward your offer. (That can happen faster than you may think, too.)
In the same way that you can start decorating for Christmas much earlier than many people think… You can start selling before you’re done throwing Gary Vee-style jabs.
After you’ve grabbed your should-be buyer’s attention and started generating interest in what you’re talking about, it’s safe to start moving toward the sale.
Let’s get it!
P.S. I just recorded a video diving deeper into this in the Inbox X-Factor membership.
I honestly believe it’s one of the most valuable trainings I can share right now.
If you’re aggressively growing your email list, these insights could be worth millions of dollars for you.
You can check it out inside Inbox X-Factor.