I was told by a salesman a few days ago that they were having difficulty with following-up with prospects. 

I asked him to describe what he did to follow-up.  His answer was short and to the point. " I call and if I cannot get in touch with them I leave a message mentioning our past discussion and ask them to call me back.  I then send an email."

My response was also short and to the point.  " You must remember that you are not always the number one priority on your prospects list.  In the future plan on calling multiple times over whatever amount of time it takes to get the prospect on the phone.  5, 10 15 calls or until you reach the prospect.  Don't leave a message every time but keep trying until you reach them."

*Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

 

*Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

 

*Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

 

*Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.

 

*If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

 

*If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

 

*It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

 

*Never buy a car you can't push.

 

*Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

 

*Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

 

*When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

 

*Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

 

*You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

 

*We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different

colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

 

*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

 

When you get right down to it, everyone in your company is a marketer. From the receptionist whose voice is the first thing your buyers hear to the delivery person whose rear-end may be the last thing they see, each of your employees plays a pivotal role in the orchestration of your marketing efforts. Good companies imbue every employee with a healthy reverence for the customer so that the company, from every point of contact that it has with its market, knows how to market.

Moses and the Israelites wandered the desert for 40 years without giving up. You owe it to yourself to try any new marketing initiative at least three times before throwing in the towel. Your prospect could have been out of the country the first time you ran it, and tending to his sick mother the second. Repetition is a marketer's best friend.

Your customers, prospects and champions (those who refer business your way) should hear from you every 90 days. People are simply too busy to remember you otherwise.

If you don't follow the 90-day rule, you risk getting shouted down by any competitor of yours who does.

Suspects become prospects, who then become customers. And these customers then generate referrals, who create more prospects… and the cycle begins anew. For thousands of years, this marketing process (also known as the prospecting funnel) has governed marketing activities for all companies, and I feel safe saying that it will continue this way for another thousand years.