Organization is the downfall of just about every small business in existence today. The simple fact is that the owner(s)—while well-intentioned—simply don’t have the time in their day to do one important thing, And, you guessed it, FOLLOW UP ON LEADS they have acquired.
Through no fault of their, by the time they get back from the networking event, they are onto another crisis and solving a new problem. Leads, while they do constitute fresh business, necessarily fall by the wayside in favor of keeping the ship afloat.
So: what’s the easiest way to grapple with this problem? Strange as it may seem with all of the bells and whistles we all have on our computer systems these days, it is a good, old fashioned index card box. Why? Because if you have that box sitting on your desk, you have a visual reminder that you need to send a thank you note, provide a price sheet, or contact the appropriate party. If your leads are sitting in a data base on your computer, it requires you to make a concerted effort to get into the program and open the file.
While that doesn’t sound like a big deal, it is if the phone is ringing off the hook, you’ve got a delivery coming through the back door and an irate customer standing in front of you.
When you get back from a function you’ve attended, make out an index card for each of the contacts you’ve made there. Use the B-I-G cards so you can get more info on them. Jot down the name and date of the event and the action item that came out of it. If necessary, staple another card(s) to the first one to continue your record of interaction.
It will take time to get used to jotting EVERYTHING down, but gradually, you’ll get the hang of it and you’ll even look forward to doing it ASAP. Each week, go through your r box to see what leads are lurking in there, or which ones are ‘leftovers’ that you must take care of. Color code your system so you can see at a glance which contacts are top priority.
If you can learn to do this one simple thing on an on-going basis, it’s safe to assume that you will have taken giant steps in making your business more manageable.
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