Obtain a conveniently sized map of your sales territory and two bright marker pens. Put dots on the map in one colour at the location of your existing customers. With the other colour make dots for prospects you have not yet visited.

When you are thinking of travelling to see an existing customer of a new prospect, check with your map to see who else there is in the vicinity that you could go to as well.

Not only does this make your travelling more efficient if you can visit multiple customers on one trip, but in the event that the party you are planning to see is unavailable when you arrive, you can just check your map to see who else is in the same area.

Here is another easy way to increase your effectiveness. If you have quite a lot of documents that you use when you are visiting customers, put several of each into separate pockets of a display folder. This is an item you can find in all major office supply stores. A good make is Nyrex. It has a set of clear plastic sleeves bound between stiff covers. You can add labelled or colour-coded tags so that locating the documents is easy. This saves fumbling through your attaché case of leafing through a messy pile of papers when you are with the customer and looks professional and efficient.

You can also make a 'cheat' sheet or check list and keep it in a discrete location within this folder. It is a good way to make sure that you don't forget to do, show or say something important whilst you are with your client.

From experience I know that if you forget to get a document signed, for example, and have to return to the customer for this, you are creating an opportunity for a cancellation. I recommend using this simple organising tool.