For a solo professional having an up-to-date contact management database is one of the KEY administrative systems you have to have for your business. And, even more important, is having a system in place to create effective follow-up. Your business is built on following up leads and building relationships. Here are my top 5 strategies for creating effective follow-up and keeping your contact management system up-to-date.
One of the KEY administrative systems you simply must have in your solo service business is a contact management system. Your business is built on following up leads and building relationships.
If you don't have a contact management system in place, you will not be able to follow-up effectively with prospects, you could lose clients, and you will not be able to build your business.
Your contact management system needn't be a 'bells and whistles' expensive database but it does need to be easy to use, easy to maintain, and easy for you to find your contact data. Once your contact management system is in place you need to ensure that you keep it up-to-date and are using it to follow up with prospects.
Spreadsheets are a great tool for keeping track of your contacts, but even they have their limitations, particularly if your database is starting to get very large - anything over 100 contacts really needs to be on a computerised, contact management database.
One of my favorite contact management system is ACT! It really meets all of the criteria above in that it's:
Easy to use;
Easy to maintain; and
Easy to find contacts.
And here's a tip I have for you - you don't necessarily need the latest version, especially if you're going to use it just for yourself. I bought my first version of ACT! (ACT! 6.0 2004) off Ebay for $20. When buying software off Ebay, always check to see that it's being sold as 'brand new and unregistered'. This was a very small investment for me to make to see if I liked the system and once I knew it was ideal I had no hesitation in upgrading to the latest version.
Keeping your contact management database up-to-date can seem a bit daunting, particularly if you have a lot of contacts. Here are my top 5 strategies for creating effective follow-up and keeping your contact management system up-to-date.
1. Update as you go along! Whenever you speak with or email a contact take a few minutes afterwards to update your database with this information BEFORE moving on to the next task. For example, did your conversation end with you promising to contact them again in a months' time? If so, note this down and create a follow-up task there and then so you don't forget.
2. Touch base regularly. It is good practice to go through your contact management database on a monthly basis to see who you haven't had any contact with recently. Call them, or send them a 'just getting in touch with you' email.
3. Don't forget good old-fashioned snail mail! Even snail-mail has gone all hi-tech. A really quick and simple follow-up tool that I currently use is Send Out Cards. You can choose to send either a card or postcard, and it makes for a great 'stay-in-touch' service. And just as simple to use as email, only more personal! You can even upload your own handwriting font to personalise your cards even more.
4. Send a newsletter. Okay, it's not exactly personal one-on-one follow up, but it is keeping you in touch with your database. Very often your newsletter will generate a response from your reader, which means you will be able to turn this into a one-on-one communication with your contact!
5. Keep the process going! Make it a habit to update your database regularly. If you don't get the opportunity to update your database as you're going along (Tip #1) spend 20 minutes at the end of each day reflecting on what you've done during the day, who you've contacted, what the outcome was, and enter all of this information into your contact management system.
Your business will soon start to grow by following these 5 quick and simple follow-up strategies!
5 Tips for Finding a Great Virtual Assistant
Lately I've been hearing from clients and colleagues about bad experiences they've had when working with a virtual assistant, so that prompted me to write this brand new article for you. In it, I'm going to be sharing with you my five tips for ensuring you find a great virtual assistant to partner with, and making it the rewarding experience it should be.
How to Ensure That Your Business Continues to Run in the Event of a PC Failure
Having a system in place for regularly backing up your important documents is crucial when you are a solopreneur. A hard drive failure can strike at any time, sometimes even new PCs can fail. Read this article to learn more about creating a back-up system for your computer, and follow my tips to ensure you have your back-up system in place.
The Secret for Overcoming Writer's Block With These 3 Simple Tips
How many times have you sat down at your PC all ready to write your newsletter article, only to be faced with that dreaded writer's block? You're sat there and can't think of a single thing to write about. In this article I'm going to share with you my top three tips for overcoming writer's block, and show you how easy it is to write your own articles.
