As you already know, to be successful in sales you need to be persistent. Research shows that most sales are made after five separate points of contact with a prospect, which emphasises how important it is to regularly keep in touch with them.

But we both know that coming up with good reasons to keep contacting a prospect is easier said than done. Trying to gently coax them into making a decision without coming across as being pushy or seeming like you’re desperate for the sale can be like walking a tightrope.

So how can you stay in regular contact with decision makers without eventually falling into the Black Hole of Forgotten Salespeople?

If you want to know how frequently you should stay in touch with a prospect then ask them. If you don’t get a decision by the end of your sales call or sales meeting, you can use questions like:

• What do you see as the next step?
• When do you want me to follow up with you?
• When do you think we will be speaking again about this?

This will then give you a valid reason to contact the prospect again, and a schedule to work within so you can plan your follow-up calls. It’s a lot easier for you to contact a prospect again because they’ve asked you to call them – there’s no reason for them not to take your call when you’re working in this way.

If you don’t have a genuine reason to contact your prospects, then resist the temptation to keep calling them. Believe me; I know this can be very hard to do! But you’re simply wasting your time and theirs. You’ll risk losing the rapport you’ve worked hard to build with them. And even worse, they may start to get annoyed that you keep calling them.

You need to come up with genuine reasons to keep in touch; otherwise it’s pretty clear that you’re contacting them again and again and sending out a message that screams: “Are you ready to buy yet? Pleeeeease buy from me, Mr Prospect!”.

So what can you do? Well, I’ve found that a great way to stay in touch with prospects is to send them a regular newsletter. This is an extremely cost effective and non-threatening method of keeping in touch with them.

You should use your newsletter to demonstrate that your firm are experts in your industry, by including “hints and tips” features that give helpful advice on your products. This also highlights your products and gives them more exposure. Make sure you include the benefits of each product you write about, so your prospects can see how using it would make their lives easier.

Keep the tone of your newsletter light, informative and friendly. Don’t try to “sell” in your newsletter – if you do this then most of your prospects will be turned off. Most importantly, make sure you include case studies and testimonials from your delighted clients that will show your prospects what they’re missing.

Ideally you should aim to send a newsletter at least once a month, as research shows that having 12 points of contact throughout a year with your prospects will substantially increase the number who will then buy from you.