The 4-step Marketing Cycle helps a stranger becomes a customer.

There are 4 steps to the Marketing Cycle – Know, Like, Trust, and Buy.

If you try and skip any of these steps, you won’t make it to the end.

Each one of these steps is necessary. If someone doesn’t Know you, or Like you, or Trust you, it’s going to be really hard to get them to Buy from you.

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Every step in the 4-step Marketing Cycle deepens your relationship. Instead of asking strangers to buy from you, ask them to get to know you first. Don’t ask strangers to like you, or trust you; take it slow, and guide people one step at a time through this cycle.

From Slow to Fast

There are ways you can accelerate this process. Sometimes a stranger will come up to you and say:

They haven’t been slowly nurtured over time. They are ready to buy, right away, without any relationship.

Why is that?

Well, I tell a story in Marketing Yourself about the Rugged Maniac obstacle course. When I crossed the finish line, I was tired, and thirsty, and I drained my water bottle in one long swig.

An enterprising entrepreneur was sitting at the finish line with a cooler full of water bottles, and he sold them for five dollars a piece. I said, ‘Shut up and take my money!’ I didn’t need to go through the 4-step Marketing Cycle slowly; I knew what he had to offer, I liked that it was so close, I trusted it would solve my problem, so I bought it right away.

If you are selling something more expensive, something that requires more consideration than a split-second decision, then you will probably take more time to nurture your relationships.

I’ve got an easy way to keep track of these relationships: the Marketing Cycle Trello Board. You can make a list of everyone who Knows you, and Likes you, and Trusts you, and drag-and-drop their names from list to list, as your relationships grow. I’ll show you why this works (and treat you to my Southern accent) in this 4-minute video:

Other people have to subscribe to my newsletter list to get this template, but not you, dear reader! Just click below, and then click the blue button at the top that says ‘Create board from template.’