Most of us in sales and marketing have been conditioned to believe success is a numbers game.
How many people registered for the webinar?
How many attended the breakout session?
How many downloads did we get?
The more, the better—right?
WRONG!
Real business growth doesn’t come from reaching the masses. It comes from reaching the right person—The ONE who listens, engages, and takes action.
And I was reminded of this in a big way during my most recent LinkedIn Engagement Paradox research briefing.
Disappointment, Then a Shift in Perspective
I spent hundreds of hours fielding and analyzing research for this briefing. It was a business development effort to position Converse Digital as a topical authority on LinkedIn, business development, and social selling—while inviting potential clients to join me for a first conversation.
So when only four people registered, I was disappointed, to say the least.
To make matters worse, of those four, only one was a potential prospect. The others? A former client, a friend in HR, and a friend who owns a research agency.
Then, as is often the case with virtual events, only two people showed up—neither of them was a potential client.
I’d be lying if I said that didn’t sting.
But then I remembered a conversation I had with a colleague about public speaking.
As public speakers, we talked about what it feels like when you show up to deliver a breakout session at a conference—you step onto the stage, glance across the vast auditorium, and realize… it’s only half full. Or worse.
It can be demoralizing—your energy dips. The imposter syndrome doubts creeps in.
But my colleague told me something that completely reframed my thinking. He said:
“Tom, those are the sessions where you should bring the most energy. The most passion. Because the people who showed up? They came specifically for you. They want to hear what you have to say. Those are the people that matter."
In that moment I understood and began implementing my Power of One sales strategy.
So as the LinkedIn Paradox briefing kicked off, I embraced it.
Instead of treating the briefing as a formal presentation, I turned it into a conversation. And because my research agency owner friend is brilliant, she added some incredible insights—confirming some of my findings and even introducing ideas I hadn’t thought of.
The same happened with my HR friend.
The briefing morphed into an energetic, engaging, idea-packed conversation. And I think that’s a big reason why what happened next… happened.
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The Ripple Effect: When One Becomes Many
Without me asking, without me even suggesting it, both attendees shared the experience with their networks on LinkedIn and encouraged their networks to attend a future briefing.
Within 24 hours, a dozen new people reached out—dropping comments, sending LinkedIn messages, and asking for an invite to future briefings.
And here’s the kicker: many fit my ideal client profile.
That’s The Power of ONE sales strategy and Social Agency combined to create painless prospecting opportunities for me.
Sales Is Not a Numbers Game—It’s a Relationship Game
For decades, we’ve been sold the idea that sales is a numbers game. That success is just a matter of reaching enough people, and the math will take care of the rest.
But if that were true, then why do:
Because it’s not about reach—it’s about resonance.
The Science Behind Why People Share
One of the biggest objections I hear when talking about The Power of ONE and Social Agents is:
“Okay, but what if my audience isn’t the type to share?”
To that, I say: Bullocks
Everyone shares. It’s human nature.
In fact, a study from The New York Times Customer Insight Group found that people share content online for five core reasons:
- To bring value and entertainment to others.
- To define who they are to their peers.
- To build relationships and stay connected.
- To achieve self-fulfillment—feeling good about passing something useful along.
- To spread the word about causes or brands they believe in.
When people find something valuable, they want to share it—not because you asked, but because it makes them look smart, feel helpful, or connect with others.
That’s why the quality of engagement matters more than the quantity of exposure.
Seth Godin’s “First Ten” Philosophy
This whole experience reminded me of Seth Godin’s “First Ten” philosophy (read it here).
Instead of chasing thousands, start with ten. If those ten people love what you’re doing, they’ll tell others. And if they don’t? Then you’ve got work to do.
It’s a simple but powerful idea: Build deep connections with the few and let them bring the many.
How to Leverage The Power of ONE in Your Agency
So how do you shift from a mass-reach mindset to a deep-connection strategy?
- Stop obsessing over big numbers. Instead of worrying about how many people show up, focus on delivering insane value to whoever does.
- Prioritize engagement over reach. A webinar with 10 engaged people beats one with 100 passive listeners.
- Turn attendees into Social Agents. Could you make your content so good that people want to share it?
- Play the long game. The best business relationships often start with just one great conversation.
Free Yourself with The Power of ONE Sales Strategy
The next time you publish content, host an event, or engage in business development, don’t worry about the numbers.
Instead, ask yourself:
Did I connect with one person in a way that made them want to act?
Because if you did, you’re already winning.
That’s The Power of ONE.
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. Till next time.
This post was originally published on Painless Prospecting, the weekly sales and marketing blog created by the fine folks at Converse Digital. If you want to learn how to create, engage in, and convert conversations into new clients and customers, give them a call.
