Originally published by The Pomerado Newsgroup

Busy Barbara, an old associate of mine, used to get hot sales leads, stuff them in a drawer and announce “I’ll call when I have time.” When she'd finally follow up six months later, the lead invariably said “I already took care of it.”

Big surprise there, right?

Barbara justified it to anyone within earshot by saying, “They weren’t serious.” She never “got” the whole sales concept and thus didn’t make many sales.

Assuming the sale will wait forever for that follow-up call is a guaranteed disaster. Service providers who strike while the iron is hot, though, and call sales prospects within 24 hours are guaranteed to be more successful than Barbara ever was.

Ready for some mind blowing statistics?

• 48% of sales people never follow up with a prospect
• Only 10% of sales people contact prospects more than three times
• 80% of sales are made after the fifth contact

Which means a regular outreach to sales prospects should, in time, generate more sales.

My agency has spent years “touching” sales prospects in an effort to convert them to a sale. Hot prospects and active clients get regular phone calls. Everyone we know in the world – including the less-hot sales prospects – gets our free monthly newsletter.

Of course, we recognize some of these less-hot prospects may take years to convert to a sale. Others may never buy from us at all. Still, we build and maintain these relationships, recognizing a cold prospect or past client may still refer business our way.

Given the economic storm raging around us today, the sales cycle for almost any purchase should be expected to take longer than before. Therefore, there are certain basics you must remember in order to grow your business:

• Offer desirable products and services at a reasonable price
• Contact sales prospects quickly
• Remain in regular touch with them
• None of this guarantees you'll make a sale, of course. Nevertheless, sticking to these basics and constantly communicating with your prospects and customers should improve your chances. And when times are tough, you need every advantage you can find, right?

With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.

Mr. Marketing touches hundreds of people monthly. His agency grows each year. Get his newsletter at www.askmrmarketing.com.