For the all-time best example of being first in line, we need look no further than the legendary, Ben Feldman. At sales meetings, Mr. Feldman would not just write down ideas he heard, he'd list the names of prospects or clients who could profit from these ideas — then he'd find a telephone. These people may have wondered why Ben was phoning from a convention 1,000 miles away, but if it rated a long distance call, you can bet they wanted to hear more about it.

Try this: Ideas don't work, people do. So, when you attend your next sales meeting or study group session, schedule time right afterwards to call prospects for scheduled meetings to discuss the exciting new ideas you just learned. Say something like this...

Agent: "I've just learned about an exciting planning concept that fits your situation like a glove. I think you're really going to like this."

Or this: A pre-approach letter can establish a reason to call, but where an idea will come from or how far it will take you varies. Some advisers send pre-approach brochures or articles of interest to their on-profile prospects. As mentioned in Unit 1, discovering good reasons to call people is easy.

Send prestige introductions, appropriate brochures, or clip and mail articles to selected prospects; and be on the lookout for new ideas for pre-approach letters!