The nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest in the field of psychology. Discussion centers on whether inherited genes or environmental factors contribute more significantly to human development. Some philosophers, such as Plato and Descartes, suggest that certain things are inborn, or that they simply occur naturally regardless of environmental influences. Other thinkers, such as John Locke, believed in what is known as tabula rasa, which suggests that the mind begins as a blank slate. According to this notion, everything that we are and all of our knowledge is determined by our experience.
In the world of sales, however, we have to side with the nurturers, or else how will we ever convince someone to do business with us?
And in this electronic economy, nurturing is becoming an important and effective part of the sales process. Voice mail, caller ID, and “undelivered” emails have made it very easy for the prospect to remain elusive until they are ready to talk. But while they hide behind electronica, we can use it to our advantage.
Email campaigns with sophisticated tracking mechanisms can alert us to a prospect’s electronic behavior, allowing us to gauge his/her interest, in turn indicating a better time to call and an appropriate subject upon which to call. Email campaigns can also let us know when someone absolutely is not interested (unsubscribe link), which is also good news for us, because we now know exactly where not to put our sales energy.
Be a welcoming friend to your prospects by providing nurturing content that will endear you and position you as an expert in your field, so that when time comes, your prospect will know exactly where to turn.
