I came a cross an interesting new study yesterday.

It was based on an analysis of 250,000 “sales emails” sent cold by sales reps to potential clients.

Not my area really, but it highlighted something I've been obsessing about for the last 12 months or so.

In the study they found that the best response (in terms of replies) to emails happened for brand new leads.

The second best response was a tie between the remaining leads that were less than a week old and leads that were over a year old. 

The response from leads in between was often less than half that of the extremes of new and old.

Seems strange in a way, until you realise something critical. Your potential clients are not all one homogeneous lump that all behave the same way.

People often argue about whether it's best to try to sell immediately to new prospects or to nurture your relationship with them. The truth is it's not either/or its both/and.

Some new prospects will be ready to buy right away. Probably not something big, but the whole reason they found you, visited your website or signed up for your emails was because they were ready to take action.

These are the ones driving up the response of fresh leads in the report.

On the other hand, many potential clients will be earlier on in their decision process. It will take time to build the credibility and trust needed before they'll be ready to buy. And the level of urgency of their issue will need to grow too.

That's why when it comes to email marketing I say that you can (gently) sell all the time. You never know when someone is ready to buy.

But to make it work you have to lead with value. Give people something great, then show them how they can get more of it by buying from you or hiring you.

That way the people who are ready will consider your offer. The people who aren't ready will appreciate the value you gave them and will be more ready to buy next time.

Don't think either/or when it comes to sales. Think both/and.