If you’ve read Stephen Covey’s classic on life management, Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, you may remember habit 2, Beginning with the End In Mind.  This is key to any great sales call, marketing event, or other demand generation activity.  Having done many executive luncheons, one of my clients’ first questions is always, how many people should we invite.  On their mind is, “How many can we attract”.  My first question back is usually, “How many can you effectively follow up?”

Obviously there are the preparations that take place before a call, but what happens after you present?  Do you have a planned ending to your meeting that leads to, what Seth Godin terms, Permission?  And more importantly, do you have the bandwidth to stay on top of everyone who responds to your “program”?   Going in without a plan is like going in with a plan to waste your call list.

© 2011, David Stelzl