Buy or die

So how long should you keep people on your email list?

And if you’re building out an autoresponder sequence, how long should it run?

14 days?

30 days?

60?

Marketing wizard Dean Jackson likes to talk about a study done by a company called The Inquiry Handling Service.

These guys process business reply cards for companies all over the country, as well as trade show leads and telemarketing. They handle MILLIONS of leads every year, across dozens of markets and industries.

For the study, the company followed up with people who had stepped forward and asked for more information about a product or service.

So if the person was a financial planner who wanted help generating leads, the company checked back after 90 days to see if he’d bought anything to help him get leads.

The study found that on average, 15% of people who express interest in a product or service will buy within 90 days.

They have an itch, and they want it scratched NOW.

That’s not the most interesting part, though.

Because the percentage continued to climb and climb as the weeks wore on…

And by 18 months, 50% of the prospects had purchased SOMETHING from SOMEONE.

There’s an old joke in direct marketing:

How long do you keep following up with leads?

Until they “buy or die.”

It’s smart to market aggressively to leads when they first enter your funnel.

You want to make sure you maximize the number of “fifteen percenters” who buy from you instead of your competition.

But don’t give up on them after that.

For every person who buys within the first 90 days, there are 2 more out there who will be ready to make a move in the next 18 months.

What’s your plan to make sure they pick YOU?