Why You Must Make the HOST Ask Several Weeks in a Row

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Ever wonder why you must make the HOST ask several weeks in a row in order to maximize the response?  It has to do with two important understandings.

The first understanding you must have is the simple truth that the average attendee in your church doesn’t come every week.  At least…not in the average church.  Your results may vary, but in every church there are some folks who are there every week, some who are there 2 to 3 times a month, and still others who are only there once or twice a month.  There are some that only attend once or twice a year (think Easter and Christmas Eve).

Think about that for just a minute.  What that means is that unless you make the HOST ask several weeks in a row, you’ll limit the number of people who will hear it.

The second understanding you need to have is easily understood by looking at a bell curve that illustrates the adoption of innovation.  Introduced in 1962 by Everett Rogers and his book Diffusion of Innovation, the curve identifies innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards.

Can you see how it might apply to the way people in your congregation would respond to a HOST ask?  I’ve found over a number of years that the curve accurately predicts percentage responses over the course of a 3 to 5 week season (provided the rest of the factors are consistent).  In fact, I’ve also used the curve to illustrate anomalies when the other factors have been inconsistent (as was the case last fall when the response to the last minute grab-and-go strategy far exceeded the normal 5 to 10% uptick and there was mass hysteria at the grab-and-go table.

What do you think?  Does it make sense?  You can click here to jump into the conversation.

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