--- title: "The ABCDEs of Sales and Marketing: Bonding" description: Bond is the B in the ABCDE sales and marketing system. Build trust with consistent, congruent follow-up so prospects buy. From The Sales Whisperer®. image: https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hubfs/abcde%20convert%20to%20customer%20wes%20schaeffer.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/abcde-sales-and-marketing-automation-step-two-bond#main-content) [![Wes Schaeffer is The Sales Whisperer®](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/wes-header-lockup.png?width=1560&height=360&name=wes-header-lockup.png)](https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/) - Work With Me Show submenu for Work With Me - [Fix Your Follow-Up](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/follow-up) - [Best Day Ever](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/best-day-ever) - [HANK The AI](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hank) - [12 Weeks To Peak™](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/12-weeks-to-peak) - [48-Hour Fix](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/48-hour-fix) - [Start](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/start) - [Blog](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog) - [The Daily](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/daily) - [Speaking](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/sales-keynote-speaker) - [Podcast](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast) Show submenu for Podcast - [Podcast Guests](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast-guests) - [About](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/about) Open main navigation Close main navigation - Work With Me Show submenu for Work With Me - [Fix Your Follow-Up](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/follow-up) - [Best Day Ever](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/best-day-ever) - [HANK The AI](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hank) - [12 Weeks To Peak™](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/12-weeks-to-peak) - [48-Hour Fix](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/48-hour-fix) - [Start](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/start) - [Blog](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog) - [The Daily](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/daily) - [Speaking](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/sales-keynote-speaker) - [Podcast](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast) Show submenu for Podcast - [Podcast Guests](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/podcast-guests) - [About](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/about) - [Get The Daily](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/daily) [Get The Daily](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/daily) Jun 13, 2025 # The ABCDEs of Sales and Marketing: Bonding ![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer) Share: [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/abcde-sales-and-marketing-automation-step-two-bond) [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/abcde-sales-and-marketing-automation-step-two-bond) [Twitter icon](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/abcde-sales-and-marketing-automation-step-two-bond) [pinterest-p icon](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/abcde-sales-and-marketing-automation-step-two-bond) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/abcde-sales-and-marketing-automation-step-two-bond) 2026 Update From Wes The tools changed. The platforms got new names, new features, and new prices. Why most owners struggle never changed: they bought the tool before they wrote down the process. Keep reading, and see the note at the bottom. In the continuing series on The A.B.C.D.E. Sales & Marketing System™, let's look at step two: Bonding. ([Go here to review A: Attract](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/abcs-sales-and-marketing-automation-step-one-attract).) Sidebar: Yes, the AI image above is supposed to show "bonding" in the form of a happy customer hugging the salesman, which is very non-PC, but I don't care. What I do care about is how AI gives her weird arms along her back...but I digress. Speaking of images, [here's an overview of all five steps](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/abc-selling). When you get the "Attract" part dialed in, it becomes much easier to bond with your prospects, so make sure you go back and read the points on that. But now that someone has raised their hand, opted in, stopped by your booth, etc., it's time to... ## Bond via multi-media, multi-step nurturing & follow-up In my training and consulting, I bang the drum and push my clients to internalize these key points until they can say them in their sleep: - [The #1 job of a salesperson](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/the-1-job-of-a-sales-professional) is to prospect. - [You prospect to DIS-qualify](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/real-estate-lead-generation) - The oldest profession in the world is sales. - To make any sale, you must [make every sale](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/to-make-every-sale-recognize-every-sales-step). - When two or more people meet...a sale is made. - The [#1 sin of marketing](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/the-mortal-sin-of-marketing) is being boring. - We must meet our prospects where they are and bring them along the journey we have mapped for them. - We must adjust how we sell to match how our prospect buys. - "We must enter the conversation going on in the mind of the prospect." ~Robert Collier - "The customer is not a moron. She is your wife." ~David Ogilvy These are core concepts...foundational concepts...concepts that must be top of mind, on the tip of your tongue, and never more than an arm's length away in every interaction with every prospect, via every medium, every time. But here's the ## Dirty little sales secret #1 that no one wants to tell you: ## Consistency & Congruency \> Cute or Creative or Complex And here's the ## Dirty little sales secret #2 that no one wants to tell you: *"People buy from people they know, like, and trust"* is a lie. Okay, "a lie" might be a bit much, but it is totally misconstrued and only tells a partial truth. The reality is people buy from people they trust, i.e., ## Trust \> 10 x (Know + Like) The overemphasis on being known and liked has created generations of salespeople who are little more than professional visitors. So, in order to Bond with your prospects, you must build trust with them. ## How do you build trust? Follow the New ABCs of Selling: - Always Be Consistent - Always Be Congruent - Always Be Courteous - Always Be Concise - Always Be Curious - Action Begets Confidence - Always Be Composed - Always Be In Control - Always Be Conscious - Always Be Conscientious - Always Be Certain/Confident (in your process) - Always Be (not) Comfortable - Always Be Calling - Always Be Compassionate - Always Be Conscripting (get others to join your cause and support you) - Always Be Compelling - Always Be Craving (excellence, success, growth) - Always Break Crutches - Always Break the China (Always Bull China) (i.e., be that bull in a China shop. Get stuff done. Be bold. Move fast. Break things. Ask for forgiveness instead of permission.) - Always Be Caring - Always Build Callouses - Always Be Calloused (i.e., get thick skin) - Always Be Comfortable (in your skin, create a conducive environment) - Always Be Clean (no one likes a stinky salesperson) - Always Be Crass (with anything that distracts you) - Always Be Crushing (fear, competition) - Always Be Competitive/Competing - Always Be Championing (others) - Always Be Critical (of yourself, your systems, your processes) - Always Build Clarity - Always Be Controlling (your mind, emotions) - Always Be Creating (your reality, content, your environment) - Always Be Calm - Authority Becomes Clarity - Always Be Convicting (yourself to your cause) - Assassinate (your procrastination and fear) Before Calling - Always Be Clear - Always Be Communicating - Always Be Careful - Always Be Crazy - Always Be Careless - Always Be Convicted - Always Be Conversational - Always Be Commanding (attention, respect). You don't have to - write the next great novel or poem or love song. - send the greatest white papers and case studies and testimonials. - prattle on for hours and days on end. - answer every question they could ever think of. - be available 24/7. - sharpen your pencil. - be the low-cost provider. - have the most experience. You do have to - ask questions they haven't thought of. - ask questions they can't answer. - get them to admit they have pain. - get them to quantify their pain. - show up consistently. - under-promise. - over-deliver. ## Bonding is follow-up Read that last list again. "Show up consistently" is the one that breaks most businesses. Not because owners don't care, but because no one has time to follow up with every lead, every quote, and every past customer, every week. That's the job to automate. A consistent, congruent sequence of emails, texts, and reminders does the bonding for you, and AI can now draft and sort most of it, with a human approving what goes out. Here's [how to build a follow-up sequence](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/infusionsoft-follow-up-sequences-with-the-campaign-builder) if you want to do it yourself. ## Why the CRM Didn't Fix It I've used Salesforce since 2004, Keap since 2008, and HubSpot and Ontraport since 2014. Every tool on this page works. Plenty of owners still give up on it. The tool was never the problem. A shiny CRM with no written process is just expensive dashboardery. Write down how a stranger becomes a customer first. Then pick the software that fits that process. [**Get a process before you get the software →**](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/process-first) Market like you mean it. Now go sell something. Want a sounding board while you fix it? 12 Weeks To Peak™ is 84 days of private coaching with me covering business, faith, family, fitness, and finance. I show up, I listen, and I tell you the truth. [See If We're A Fit →](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/12-weeks-to-peak) Not ready for private coaching? [Join the Inner Circle](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/inner-circle). Would you rather have it built for you? [Meet Hank](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hank). [Grow Sales](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/grow-sales) ## Related posts [![](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Follow%20This%20Blueprint%20To%20Grow%20Sales%20With%20Deb%20Calvert.png?height=200&name=Follow%20This%20Blueprint%20To%20Grow%20Sales%20With%20Deb%20Calvert.png)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/deb-calvert) [The Sales Podcast](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/the-sales-podcast) ## [Follow This Blueprint To Stop Selling Start Leading: Deb Calvert](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/deb-calvert) ![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer) Apr 30, 2018 The #1 rule of marketing is DON'T BE BORING! [Read more](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/deb-calvert) [![](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog-files/soggy_diaper_equals_poor_inbound_sales.jpg?height=200&name=soggy_diaper_equals_poor_inbound_sales.jpg)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/your-poor-sales-skills-create-bad-customers) [custom AI solution development](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/custom-ai-solution-development), [Sales Training](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/sales-training), [ROI of AI](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/roi-of-ai) ## [Your Poor Sales Skills Create Bad Customers!](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/your-poor-sales-skills-create-bad-customers) ![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer) Jun 13, 2025 After you watch this, drop me an email if you don't cringe more than a little because you realize... [Read more](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/your-poor-sales-skills-create-bad-customers) [![Prospecting Tips: How To Sell To Big Companies, Jill Konrath — AI-powered sales insights from Wes Schaeffer, The Sales Whispe](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/_Podcast_Images/jill-konrath-16.png?height=200&name=jill-konrath-16.png)](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/jill-konrath-professional-sales-training-prospecting) [Salesforce.com](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/salesforce-com), [The Sales Podcast](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/the-sales-podcast), [Entrepreneur](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/entrepreneur) ## [Prospecting Tips: How To Sell To Big Companies, Jill Konrath](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/jill-konrath-professional-sales-training-prospecting) ![Picture of Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png?width=50&name=Wes%20Schaeffer%2c%20The%20Sales%20Whisperer%20black%20white.png) [Wes Schaeffer](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer) Jun 13, 2025 Sales Training Expert Jill Konrath [Read more](https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/jill-konrath-professional-sales-training-prospecting) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Wes Schaeffer", "url" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/author/wes-schaeffer" }, "dateModified" : "2026-10-04T03:59:29.230Z", "datePublished" : "2025-06-13T14:35:44.000Z", "headline" : "The ABCDEs of Sales and Marketing: Bonding", "image" : [ "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hubfs/abcde%20convert%20to%20customer%20wes%20schaeffer.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/abcde-sales-and-marketing-automation-step-two-bond", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hubfs/wes-header-lockup.png" }, "name" : "Fixer Wes" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/#organization", "@type" : "Organization", "founder" : { "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/#wes" }, "legalName" : "TSW Group, Inc.", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Wes%20Schaeffer%20The%20Business%20Fixer%20white.png" }, "name" : "The Sales Whisperer®", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.instagram.com/fixerwes", "https://x.com/fixerwes", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesaleswhisperer/", "https://www.youtube.com/@TheSalesWhispererWes" ], "url" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/#website", "@type" : "WebSite", "name" : "The Sales Whisperer®", "potentialAction" : { "@type" : "SearchAction", "query-input" : "required name=search_term_string", "target" : { "@type" : "EntryPoint", "urlTemplate" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hs-search-results?term={search_term_string}" } }, "publisher" : { "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/#organization" }, "url" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/#wes", "@type" : "Person", "alternateName" : "The Sales Whisperer", "image" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/hubfs/wes-suit-forward.jpeg", "jobTitle" : "Founder", "name" : "Wes Schaeffer", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.instagram.com/fixerwes", "https://x.com/fixerwes", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesaleswhisperer/", "https://www.youtube.com/@TheSalesWhispererWes" ], "url" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/about", "worksFor" : { "@id" : "https://thesaleswhisperer.com/#organization" } } ```