In a recent column on US advisor website Horsesmouth, consultant Robert Middleton talked about the gulf between getting interest from prospects and following up with them.
Many advisors are successful at doing things to get an initial level of interest from prospective clients – and then fall down on how they follow up on that interest.
He refers to effective follow-up as the biggest gap most advisors encounter … and offers seven suggestions on closing the follow up gap.

Follow up quickly
His first suggestion is to follow up immediately after a prospect expresses interest.
Middleton points out that It's easy to delay, but if you do, the impact of the follow-up fades dramatically.
 If you meet someone through networking and say you'll follow up, do so the very next day. 
If you give a talk and promise you'll send something to those who give you their card, follow up within two days—maximum. Make sure to set aside time for the follow-up activity so you can easily fit it into your schedule.

Build follow up into your routine
Robert Middleton suggests rewarding yourself for making a certain number of follow-up calls.
The article recommends making following up with prospects a regular part of your business and following a certain routine every time.
You could consider scheduling follow-up calls twice a week or making some follow-up calls every single day – scheduling it at a regular time.

Script your  follow ups.
Another suggestion is to script your follow up conversation, knowing what you are going to say and where the conversation will lead.
Not only will that make the follow up call more effective, but if you’ve scripted it out you’re more likely to make that call.

Pick quality over quantity
Next is to focus on quality over quantity and do research before calling.
Imagine that someone follows up with you after a networking event and says, "Hi, I met you at the Chamber of Commerce last night. You asked for some information about our work. Can you tell me what it is that you do?"
Contrast that with the alternative: "Hi, we chatted at the                                                             Chamber of Commerce meeting last night and you asked for some information about the work we do. I just spent some time on your website. Based on that, there are a couple of specific questions I’d like to ask you."
Middleton comments that some advisors show remarkably little interest in potential clients. No wonder they fail to make a connection that leads anywhere.    

Delivering value laden messages
When following up with prospects Middleton suggests using something called value laden messages.
Don't say this:
"Hi, this is Jan Brown from ABC Investments; we met at the Chamber last night. We offer a complete range of investing services designed to meet your needs. I'd like to get together with you to explain our services and how we can help you."
Instead, lead with a reason for the prospect to want to speak with you:
“Hi, this is Jan Brown from ABC Investments. After we spoke at the Chamber yesterday, I thought about your comment that at some point you’ll be looking for a potential buyer for your business.
I'd like to share some ideas about how we've helped some of our clients create succession plans to make sure the transition goes smoothly and benefits everyone involved.”

Use friendly persistence
Some advisors are worried about being seen as a pest when they follow up.
On this, you have to use friendly persistence.
If you meet someone that you sincerely think you could provide value for, don't give up after one follow-up call.
It can take many contacts before something happens. That message above might be followed up with an e-mail and a link to an article online.
This might be followed up by another message. If someone doesn't get back to you right away, it means either your message did not contain enough value or they're just busy.
You can control the first and apply friendly persistence to the second.

Give prospects an out
After a few messages and e-mails without response, Middleton suggests leaving a final message:
“Hi, it's Jan, from ABC Investments. Sorry we haven't been able to connect. I'd sure like to talk to you about the things we’ve learned from successful business owners about what it takes to put an effective  succession plan in place.
In fact, I’m just working with a client now who told me that he no longer worries about the well-being of his business when he retires.
But I don't want to keep bugging you. If you'd like to speak, here's my phone and e-mail.”
Now you’ve left it with the prospect to follow up  … or not.

Remember that follow up doesn’t mean hassling a prospect.
One of the big reasons for not following up is that we believe we are hassling people. We think we're a nuisance and we'll be rejected.
Robert Middleton ends his article by saying that if you follow up incorrectly, you can be! But if you make sure you add value to every call and you are firm in your conviction that your service is valuable, you are doing people a great service by following up.