I’ve recently started implementing the “rule of three” mentality into my everyday routine.
This concept centers on the idea that items in clusters of three are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other groupings. But for me, this mindset has transformed the way I approach business — for the better.
Oftentimes, you can do one thing well, and it helps you obtain the minimum objective. But if you would’ve just added a couple other key elements to the mix, you could have yielded a much higher return. After putting this practice into action, I’m seeing my goals and objectives come to life much faster.
I actually made fun of myself in a speech the other day for thinking in Venn diagrams to maximize results — hence my latest obsession with the “rule of three.” But it makes sense that focusing on the three things that contribute most to reaching a business goal and combining them in a way that adds unmatched value to others will produce a better outcome.
For example, high-level publication relationships are hard to obtain in my industry. Hundreds of people reach out every day hoping their content will be published. Even if you’re sending quality content, there’s a good chance it’s going to get turned down.
Therefore, I’ve tried to not only have my team send quality content, but I also make sure to form meaningful relationships with contacts there and stay top of mind with monthly touchpoints. This differentiates us when an email hits their inbox from someone else who’s only doing one thing. As a result, more articles end up getting published where we didn’t see success before.
Take this visual, for example:
Somebody recently asked me how my content marketing company has grown so rapidly — from a team of two to 46 full-time employees (and growing!) in less than three years — while continuing to exceed our goals.
My response? When you educate someone and address a pain point, you build the foundation for trust. After that, all you have to do is deliver, and you solidify that relationship. Our team approaches our work from these three angles when creating content, which has revved up our growth considerably.
Here’s how each piece of my Venn diagram works:
Educate or Help Your Readers
Some of the most trusted people are advisors, mentors, professors, etc., so it makes sense that companies should consistently educate their audiences to gain trust. It’s pretty simple. Find out what’s valuable to them, and deliver that information effectively.
That’s also the secret behind the explosive growth of companies like Buffer. For instance, 70 percent of users were drawn to the app for its content. That’s amazing. The content is educational, not promotional. Buffer has earned its audience’s trust, loyalty, and sales by simply being a helpful resource.
Address Their Pain Points
If you think about your personal network, your best friends are probably the people who helped you through the pain points in life and stood by your side when you needed them most. That level of trust and dependability is hard to come by.
You can look at a customer relationship through the same lens.
If you can guide prospects through a rough patch or help them overcome a major challenge, you won’t just win a sale — you’ll also gain a brand advocate. It’s important to consistently tap into the pain points your audience is facing and empower them with the information they need to solve those problems.
For example, we composed a series of articles that helps marketers earn C-suite buy-in for content marketing after multiple leads pointed out this roadblock. Since then, readers have reached out and thanked us for arming them with actionable advice they can use to start deploying a content marketing campaign.
Prove Yourself
The last step — and the hardest to achieve — is to prove your performance. You only get this chance if your audience tries your product or service. If you perform at or above expectations, you can set the tone for a trusting relationship.
Think about the vendors you recommend to others; they’ve probably demonstrated their worth and wowed you with their level of quality or service. When you combine this factor with the education and pain points elements, you create a “perfect storm” for building trust, which results in sales, brand advocates, and other valuable opportunities for you and your company.
After adopting this mentality, more qualified inbound opportunities have organically come my way, and I’m spending less time fighting for the right opportunities.
If you liked this, please follow my LinkedIn account. I plan to do a series of “perfect storm” and “rule of three” examples exclusively on my LinkedIn column. I hope my network can find the same success I have from applying this mindset.
This article was originally published on the LinkedIn publishing platform. 
