Aims Describe stepwise strategies (electronic chart review, patient preselection, call-center, personnel dedicated to recruitment) for the successful recruitment of >5000 type 2 diabetes patients in four months. Methods Twenty-five family medicine clinics from Mexico City and the State of Mexico participated: 13 usual care, 6 specialized diabetes care and 6 chronic disease care. Appointments were scheduled from 11/3/2015 to 3/31/2016. Phone calls were generated automatically from an electronic database. A telephone questionnaire verified inclusion criteria, and scheduled an appointment, with a daily report of appointments, patient attendance, acceptance rate, and questionnaire completeness. Another recruitment log reviewed samples collected. Absolute number (percentage) of patients are reported. Means and standard deviations were estimated for continuous variables, χ2 test and independent “t” tests were used. OR and 95% CI were estimated. Results 14,358 appointments were scheduled, 9146 (63.7%) attended their appointment: 5710 (62.4%) fulfilled inclusion criteria and 5244 agreed to participate (91.8% acceptance). Those accepting participation were more likely women, younger and with longer disease duration (p < 0.05). The cost of the call-center service was $3,010,000.00 Mexican pesos (∼$31.70 USD per recruited patient). Conclusions Stepwise strategies recruit a high number of patients in a short time. Call centers offer a low cost per patient.