The Closing is Misnamed

"The closing is misnamed" says Jim Pugliese, Jim Pugliese Seminars, Guilderland, N.Y. "It's the beginning of a life-long relationship". By investing a little regular time and effort to stay in touch with past customers, you can build a steady flow of referrals that will boost your income. The relationship continues long past the closing.

A good referral system combines the use of several techniques including greeting cards and small gifts. Help yourself stand out in the junk mail jungle. An innovative reminder idea is to tie a contact to some date having some significance in their life such as their birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, hobbies or a date of a past success.

Surveys show that the most common reason people don't list or buy using a salesperson they've used in the past is that they can't remember the name. Ideally you should contact every past client at least six times a year. If clients haven't heard from you in six months, it's safe to assume that you're off their radar screen.

Take a long-term view of building a referral business and you will be rewarded in the end.