Absolutely everybody, from North America, who graduated from high school, has an immediate association with other graduates from that same school. If you graduated, for example, in 1985 in a class of 300 people, three thousand people graduated from your high school in the next decade. If you’re older than that, it’s even better because when you reach people from your former graduating class, it’s been so many years that they’re delighted to hear from you.

Here’s how I applied Prospecting Strategy The Graduation List. It paid me big dividends. I graduated in 1968 from Glendale High School in Springfield Missouri. I telephoned the woman who organized our high school reunions. She gave me the recent list she had compiled for high school reunions. I later learned that she knew the people who handled the reunions of those who graduated one and two years after me and I obtained those as well. Over time I acquire an updated graduation list for ten years, from 1968-1978.

Here’s the approach I used. I called people on the phone and said, “Hi! This is Mark Yarnell, I graduated from Glendale High School just like you. How have you been?” They were immediately friendly, because, after all, we had something remarkable in common – years ago, we graduated from the same high school!

After catching up a little bit with small talk I said, “You know, I think, as crazy as this sounds, I may have found a way for Glendale graduates to earn a hundred thousand a month and stay at home. Grab a pen; I’d like give you some information.” Usually they responded with something like, Mark, you kidding. You’ve discovered a way for Glendale graduates to make that kind of money? This must be some kind of joke.” And I would say, “No Bob, just write this phone number down, and listen to this short message. Let me give you my home number so you can call me back if you’re interested in knowing more.”

Here’s an interesting side note. None of those who were successful ever knew me when I was in high school. One of them graduated five years after I did. But the mere fact that we all graduated from the same high school created an instant warm market that allowed me to build a huge organization under them.