Weekly fax. I noticed when visiting the office of one of my clients that he enjoyed motivational quotes.
He had several of them framed and hanging on the walls of his office That gave me the opportunity to stay in touch by regularly faxing him a "quote of the week" And when I came across a great book of quotes, I delivered it to him personally. He is now one of my most loyal clients and we share great quotes and motivate each other at the same time.

Greeting cards. Another effective relationship builder is to use business greeting cards. A company named IntroKnocks (800-753-0550) produces clever and creative greeting cards that can be used as door openers,
reminders, relationship builders, or just to keep in touch.

One, for instance, has an illustration of many pocket watches flying through the sky, and reads, 'Time Flies!" on the outside. Inside, the card reads, "It's been a while since we've spoken. Let's talk soon.

Not playing golf. One last method that I find effective is contrary to what most people in sales do. I learned how not to play golf.  When I set up golf outings with clients I let them know I'm a beginner. I also explain to them that I'm always trying to improve my game, and ask if they would mind sharing their expertise by offering any tips they might have during our  round.

Everyone likes being considered an "expert," and most are ready to share their knowledge. My clients became my golf mentors and I their golf protege, and our relationship grew faster than it might have otherwise. I found that it became easier to get through to clients when I called, because they were interested to hear about any progress in my game, to offer new advice and tips, and to ask when we might hit the course again for more hands-on training.