Day 19: We are now 19 Days into our "100 Days to Change". I trust that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. As the year winds to a close, now is a great time to due some maintenance to your database. Update addresses from the Christmas cards you received. Revisit contacts that you have had little to no interaction with this past year. Are they doing business with someone else? Have they not gotten the attention that they deserve? Is it time to categorize them as a "D"? Remember, "D" is for Delete. Everyone should be categorizing their database. As impersonal as it may seem, you are in business for yourself and you must know where your business is coming from. Money must be spent wisely during these lean times.
As a review, here are your categories:
"A" -Your best contacts. They do a lot of business with you and they send you a lot of referrals. Take really good care of these contacts. Each of these can be considered as the Goose that Lays the Golden Egg.
"B" -Contacts that give you business every now and then and may give you referrals. These contacts should receive a lot of attention because they could become an "A".
"C" -Contacts that you add to your database. You are not sure if they will absolutely do business with you and you're not sure if they will send you referrals. Monitor these contacts closely. If you aren't able to convert these contacts within 3 months then you may want to consider them a "D". As the saying goes, "It's business, nothing personal."
"D" -Contacts that are nonresponsive or will not do business with you. Delete them; it's business.
I give credit to this database categorization to Brian Buffini. It is a great method and will benefit your business greatly.
Paul
"100 Days to Change"
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