May 7, 2002
"Get Into the ACT With Contact Management"
by Mark McGregor
At the end of your network meeting you collected five new business cards. You took the time to write down on the back of each card an important piece of information about that contact. The next day you put the cards on top of the stack that you have collected over the last few weeks. You go back to the stack of cards next week to look up whom you were supposed to call and can't find the card you're looking for! This is why a contact management database is an absolute must. Contact management software organizes your contact's information, usually provides a day planner, and some can even set priorities for your task list. There are many contact management software packages to choose from. I'm a diehard ACT fan; however, there are also other great programs such as Maximizer and Goldmine. The amount of money and aggravation that you can save by organizing your contacts and time is astronomical. In this article, we will talk about the benefits and features when using contact management such as ACT. In a future article, we will discuss the day planner and other features such as prioritizing tasks with ACT and similar contact management programs.
=> Where did I put that business card? Add every person you meet to your ACT contact list who can possibly add a potential benefit to your organization. Keep a record of all their business card information such as phone and fax number, address, e-mail address, and personalized notes of conversations. ACT will store and retrieve this information on your computer with a click of a button!
=> Customize your database There is no limit to the amount of information that you can add to your ACT database. You can add extra cells of information such as account numbers, assistant's names, and Web site addresses. As a professional speaker, I added an entire page that has cells to record the names of conventions, dates of conventions, and the names of the event planners.
=> ACTing with your PALM You can synchronize the most updated contact information that is loaded into your PALM or with most other PDA (Personal Data Assistant) devices with ACT. You simply put your PALM device into a saddle that is hooked up to your personal computer that has ACT. It will inform each other of the most recent contact updates. As an example, suppose you're on the road for the day and you add a new contact's name and e-mail address to your PALM; you can download that information into your ACT database as well.
=> Sharing is good! Share your contacts. If you have other associates that you need to share contact information with, you can e-mail your contact's ACT file to your associate and vice-a-versa. You can edit the amount of information that you send if the file is confidential.
=> It's in the mail Personalize your mail merges with e-mails and client's letters with a click of a few buttons. It will add all of your client's names, addresses and other customized fields into your correspondence to make it appear that you wrote a letter to each contact individually. It will even put the names and addresses on envelopes and any type of statements that you want to send.
=> I've searched high and low Save time by using search engines that are in your database to find names, addresses, phone numbers and just about any piece of information that you have loaded up in your contact management system. Suppose you want to do some marketing with your fax machine. Simply ask your ACT program to look up all of those clients who have fax numbers. Once you have that list pulled up, you can even narrow it down to specific states or provinces, right down to street addresses.
MarkETing Email Tips© 2002 by Mark McGregor for Speaking of Hearts. All Rights Reserved.
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See Mark live on CKCO TV Kitchener Ontario Canada on Thursday February 7, on their 12 Noon News cast! Mark will be sharing his unique biography and his upcoming motivational and inspirational presentation- "Getting to the HEART of what Matters!"
Make your event "one to remember!" Mark is an authority at overcoming obstacles in business and in life. He is also the president-elect for the Hamilton Chapter of The Canadian Association of Professional Speakers. Contact Mark now to speak at your events! E-mail at mark@speakingofhearts.com or phone (905) 385-1588.
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