Organize Your Contacts in 5 Easy Steps
All business owners who attend networking events to grow their professional network know how important it is to have access to those connections. The problem is, without a way to handle all those business cards you collect they are often lost or untraceable when you’re trying to find some particular contact. That is why we need a way to keep contacts organized and findable. This will save lots of time and frustration in your business. Following are 5 steps to keeping your contacts organized and accessible.
- Do the same thing every time. After you collect your cards put them together in the same place every time.
- Use a database. Whether this is Outlook or your rolodex, have a final landing place for all your contacts.
- Make them searchable (and findable). File them in a way you will remember them. This may be by name, company name or industry.
- Add them to your online social network. Google each person’s name with the city they live in. Their social network will come up. Follow on twitter and request they join your professional network on LinkedIn and Facebook.
- Stay in touch. Pick some mechanism to touch base with them on a regular basis. Some ways are by phone, email blasts and snail mail.
Follow these 5 easy steps every time you collect new contacts for your network. You will save lots of time and frustration by being organized and systemized. You will look more professional and have more confidence. You will even be motivated to grow your network faster because you know you have the infrastructure to handle the follow-up.
