We're all customers and we all get inundated with sales messages and offers. And yet, when it comes to running our own business, we assume that giving a sales message once is enough. Learning to follow up, again and again and again, can make a real difference to your profits.

Today most people complain that they have little time to focus, especially in business. They are constantly interrupted – emails, advertising, social media, Blackberrys and a constant source of new information through the internet fight for our attention every minute of every day. In the middle of all that noise, the reality is that it becomes harder and harder for people to sift through it and remember what might actually be interesting for them.

So, your job is to keep following up with prospects so you are constantly at the top of their minds. Email more often than you might think you need to – loads of stuff is deleted without being looked at anyway, so you need at least a couple of attempts to get through. If you door-drop, don’t assume that houses that didn’t respond last time won’t do in the future – or that they have kept your lovely flyer in a safe place! If you sell services to businesses, don’t assume that sending your brochure once is enough. Send it regularly – and if that is too expensive for you to do, change your materials so you can use them more frequently.

I know far too many sales people who call a new prospect, call back once and then give up, saying they are not interested. Follow up is not something you can do once then cross off your to-do list! Once you have a contact, stop focusing on just the sale and follow up with them to build a relationship or develop a reputation as an expert in your field. Perfect the art of phoning just to keep in touch, see how they are and then think about how you can help them.

But most importantly, when you are in the middle of a real sales process, keep on following up. As a general rule, the bigger the deal, the longer it takes to get a decision. In that time you need to keep at the top of your prospects mind as much as possible. Find reasons to make contact as often as you can, and use as many ways as possible (emails, calls, face to face etc). For most people that means making contact far more often than they feel comfortable with – but often that’s what it takes. Use everyone in your business – don’t just see this as the salesmans job – closing deals takes everyone, especially for the bigger deals. Just remember, if you are not at the top of your prospects mind, there is a good chance that your competitors will be.

Take action NOW – this week, find a reason to contact or speak to all your prospective customers again.