There is a critical element of timing involved in sales and marketing. As important as doing things right is doing things at the right time. This helps to maintain a necessary momentum to your sales activities, stay top-of-mind with customers, and constantly move the sales process forward. For example, setting an appointment more than a few days in advance drastically decreases the chances that it will happen. Practically, we are talking about getting a proposal out right away even if it is not perfect, making sure that your follow-ups are prompt, etc. Here is a good set of benchmarks: set appointments no more than a week out (2-3 days being optimal); set the 2nd meeting within a week of the first; send a thank you note the day after the meeting or the same afternoon; give proposals within 3 days of the meeting, if possible; follow up on all pending questions as soon as possible, at least by the end of the week; and answer all important emails the same day, at least with a one-line acknowledgement of receipt to let the sender know that you are looking into the issue. This same principle should also be applied to the timing of all marketing communications and coordination of customer touchpoints. It also applies to management more generally and the need to make decisions when needed even without complete information; you will never have it anyway.
