In listening to an interview with octogenarian, Peter Clemenger, one of the founders of 75-year old Clemenger Advertising, a survivor in a world where advertising agencies come and go with amazing rapidity, I was reminded of a great rule to live by.

When asked what contributed to the success that he and the agency enjoyed, Mr Clemenger said, “I always had a list of 10 prospects with whom I regularly stayed in touch.”

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And, of course, when one of those prospects ultimately became a client they were replaced by another prospect on the list. It was an ongoing process… finding a company that he’d like to do business with, getting to know them and building the relationship.

That’s the key… regularly staying in touch, not just a now-and-then contact when he had nothing better to do, but a properly planned program to ensure he built a personal relationship with decision makers. And, just once in a while that reaped rewards.

Sure he was disappointed when the prospect sometimes chose a competitor, but he won enough to make it worthwhile.

The question for us is… do we have that list of 10 prospects with whom we are building a relationship by regularly staying in touch?

(And by the way, in previous articles I’ve talked about many ways you can stay in touch for the recommended 5-11 times a year.)