Here are some staggering marketing realities:

• The vast majority of people who send direct mail never follow up.

• The average salesperson leaves only one or two messages before giving up.

• After a networking event, most people do not follow up with their new contacts.

• Most cards dropped into fish bowls at trade shows never get any follow-up.

What are we doing? We chase after these people, and when we finally get close to being able to make contact (or worse, when they have asked us to contact them), we don’t. Or we put it off for so long, we’re afraid they won’t even remember us any more.

What happens? It’s easy. We have no plan. We stab in the dark, and then when we don’t hit anything, we get stuck. Or we execute the part we’ve actually thought through, and then we get distracted with a new project or client crisis … and we never go back. Because we have to invent the “what next” step, it usually just doesn’t happen.

Instead of getting closer to our prospects, now we’re actually further away. Now we’re demonstrating our lack of follow-through, our lack of tenacity and our lack of planning. Hardly sounds like someone they’d want to hire, does it?

Here’s a good rule of thumb: Never do anything until you know what you’re going to do next. Always have that next step worked out and ready to go. Think it through and be prepared.

I know it sounds ridiculously simple, but be honest with yourself. Is that really how you are working now? If not, what is it costing you in lost opportunities?

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and the author of “99.3 Random Acts of Marketing.” He can be reached at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com.