Low Tech CRM Do you have a gnawing anxiety that you have hundreds or thousands of relationships in your database of contacts that you've never touched since you put them there who knows how long ago? You're not alone. Recently, I decided to go through every single one of my contacts and establish whether they're still in the same place as when they were first put into my db. Some have been in there for ten years. About 25% were gone. But the remaining 75%...wow. What a goldmine. I barely got into the "b's" before the project paid off in spades. As a result, I've drastically reallocated my time in order to focus more on staying in touch with those I know and less on acquiring new contacts. Of course I'll always add to my contacts. Heck, that's part of the purpose of Web Digest For Marketers. But making a steady habit of "pinging" those I already know yields faster and profitable results. It is the hunter in all of us that constantly goes out to gather more contacts and relationships. While farming or harvesting them isn't as exciting, it certainly is a critical aspect to success. It's also somewhat therapeutic. I get to see what became or didn't become of each relationship. For each one that was no longer there, I found myself pondering the lost potential of what might have been if only I had established such a regimen previously. Oh well. Whilst going through all my contacts, I also categorize (in Outlook) each and every person. This is a good exercise as it forces me to think of what my agenda is with each person and how I view them. Yes, there were some people I simply took out of my database altogether when I realized I had no conceivable agenda with them now or in the future. Like painting the San Francisco Bay Bridge, the process is never finished. Upon completing the database alphabetically, I will then be able to drill down through the different categories. Some are WDFM advertisers and prospects, some are prospects or clients from my speaking and consulting practices. Some are what I call "connectors," "advocates," or "heavies." Attaching actionable tasks to many of these relationships helps move things down the road to some sort of transaction. Sure, just about everyone uses some sort of contact management program like ACT, Now-Up-To-Date, Outlook, or Goldmine. But like so many apps, I suspect most of us use only 2% of the software's potential. One of my speaker topics not listed at http://www.larrychase.com/seminars.html#speaker is called "It's All About Relationships." Without relationships there is no business, profits, and the rest of it. The care and feeding of existing relationships is often overlooked in favor of hunting down new ones that will also not be nurtured appropriately down the road. The experience was an eye- opener for me that changed my work-habits irrevocably. So dramatic was it I thought it a good idea to share the experience and revelation of it with you now. Some of you reading this (most likely seasoned DM'ers) will say "Duh." But I know there are lots of folks out there who realize they've got lots of tedious if not profitable work ahead of them in doing exactly that which I've expressed here. I know this because I've seen the look on people's faces when I tell them what I'm doing. I can see they're calculating how long it will take them and who all they should be in touch with on a regular basis. They say things like, "Oh, I should be doing that," or "I've got a golden database I should really pay attention to." If this is you, I suggest you set aside a couple hours a day and get cracking. |
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