1. People Need What You Have
Your prospects and your clients need the products and services you offer. Don’t worry that by promoting yourself you are intruding on or interrupting. Are you thinking, "They won't want what I have," or "They've probably already got someone. At this very moment, your prospects are waiting for you." Whether it's true about a specific prospect is irrelevant; if you approach each prospect with that frame of mind, you'll succeed.

2. Your Prospects Want to Look Good.
A business is successful if it has the right suppliers. No matter the industry, from construction to graphic design, things aren't the way they used to be -- not for you and not for them. So what they want from you, over and above what they're asking for, is that you make them look good. If you can communicate to them and attract their attention they are likely to

3. You Want their Business More Than They Want to Give it to You.
Even though your prospective clients will be thrilled with your service once you get to know each other, in the first place you will have to do some of their work: help them find you, help them contact you and help them work with you. The fewer obstacles they have to surpass, the more likely they are to follow through, and the more likely you are to do business.

4. Your Prospects Have a Lot Going On - Be Patient
In the office, there are always interruptions. It’s hard for them to get anything accomplished. You are just one of the many things they are trying to focus on. Tat could why they aren't calling you back!

5. Your Prospects Act on Impulse.
We see something interesting, we get excited, we call for information and when it comes, we put it in a pile. Determine as quickly as possible if you're dealing with an impulse inquiry and waste as little time as possible with them. But don't write them off entirely; just put them on your quarterly mailing list and let them come back to you.

6. Your Prospects Need to Pigeonhole You.
Give them a box to put you in, and a label to put on your box. There's plenty of time once you get to know each other to tell them more later about your full range of services.

7. Your prospects May Not Know What They Need.
Listen to them describe their business and provide a solution to their self-defined needs. Most likely you will have some suggestions which will better suit their requirements. Offer a few alternatives for them to choose from.


8. Give Your Prospects Time.
Believe your contacts when they say they have to think about it, or that they have to sell the idea to someone else. Give them the time they ask for, and then keep in touch, reminding them that they were interested. And remember that some things will never come to fruition no matter how right it seems. That's business.

9. Build Relationships, Nor Just Prospect Lists.
Your relationships are not with companies they're with human beings. How you interact personally and what they see of your professionalism will probably be of more influence in your business dealings than the attributes of a product you may be offering.

10. Think Like a Potential Client.
You are a prospect to someone out there too. Which defenses do you use? How do you want to be treated when someone is marketing to you? How often do you want someone calling? How much freedom and time would you like to have to think about a product, to ask questions and to make your decision? How do you want to feel about the process when it is over?