In practice, however, these ‘in-between moments’ often do not happen. Moreover, telephone acquisition is not something that can be done on the side. It requires consistent tracking who your potential customer is, what they are working on and when is the most appropriate time to approach him/her. How do you prevent procrastination and turn it into success?

• Consistent agenda setting
  It's an old one, but it's a matter of making focused time for it. If you call in at the appointed time, the client will have more of an ear for your pitch. In addition, it is easier to come in if you can refer to the previous day's conversation. Also, a telephone operator(s) will put you through more easily if you can say you have a calling appointment. In our work as lead generation specialists, it is therefore a golden rule to consistently put these appointments in our CRM system. The advantage is that your system will let you know when it's time for your sales-oriented call appointment.
• Put in guide lines
  Your computer, your phone, your paper calendar, your alarm clock if need be. They are handy helplines when you tend to put things off. Or use an ‘accountability buddy. That can be a colleague, coach or close friend who asks you every day if you did things you wanted to do today. Nice and confrontational...but oh so necessary. Especially when it comes to sales where you want to approach your target market structurally.
• Keep obtained information
  Have you then taken the time to call back, turns out the customer is not there. Still, such a phone call is not wasted. In fact, almost every contact yields new information. For example, your contact person may be on vacation, on maternity leave, or long absent. Also, sometimes you hear from the telephone operator that your prospect is busy and therefore asks you to call back later. See there an additional lead for your follow-up conversation. Even if your contact person asks you to call back in a few months because there will be more insight into investment plans or because the ERP implementation will be over by then. You get this valuable data for free. Make grateful use of it and make sure that you follow up with this prospect structurally when he or she does have time for a conversation, or when the subject does come up. It would be a shame if this opportunity is lost!
• Mailing as an alternative
  When people are hard to reach, e-mailing is a good alternative to show in advance that that prospect is worth a lot to you. Incorporate the subjects discussed and let them know when you will be in touch again. Even if you have not been able to reach the prospect, you can send an e-mail asking when he or she can be reached. Chances are you'll get an email back and use it to log new information. Customer-specific information is the first step to a new prospect!