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Order! Or the story of how I put things right
Let's start with the basics; it will be useful for everyone since we are all sales managers to some extent.
What does your phone address book look like? How are the contacts stored?
I'll share my experience with you. Nowadays, there is a wide variety of contact management software available, but we still rely on the universally applicable and familiar address book. That's what we'll talk about.
What does your phone address book look like? How are the contacts stored?
I'll share my experience with you. Nowadays, there is a wide variety of contact management software available, but we still rely on the universally applicable and familiar address book. That's what we'll talk about.
Let's pay attention to how we have our contacts listed in the address book?
A decent time ago I had a feature phone and I used to write contacts with a slash ("/"), like "name / some marker for memory," "Masha / Sberbank," or "Petr Nikolaevich / City Stroy". This was enough for my brain to identify people and retrieve the information about them. However, the memory at 20 and at 35 is quite different, especially after eventful youth. So, here's the thing: I knew a lot of people and as the number of new contacts kept increasing, the address book started turning into something strange because the naming algorithm still remained the same. Among my contacts I had characters like "Alexey Petrov / deals with coal / Kemerovo." So the system I created at the age of 17 was no longer effective. In addition, my memory became overloaded, I started forgetting the birthdays of important contacts, and losing crucial details of negotiations. This was unacceptable.
A decent time ago I had a feature phone and I used to write contacts with a slash ("/"), like "name / some marker for memory," "Masha / Sberbank," or "Petr Nikolaevich / City Stroy". This was enough for my brain to identify people and retrieve the information about them. However, the memory at 20 and at 35 is quite different, especially after eventful youth. So, here's the thing: I knew a lot of people and as the number of new contacts kept increasing, the address book started turning into something strange because the naming algorithm still remained the same. Among my contacts I had characters like "Alexey Petrov / deals with coal / Kemerovo." So the system I created at the age of 17 was no longer effective. In addition, my memory became overloaded, I started forgetting the birthdays of important contacts, and losing crucial details of negotiations. This was unacceptable.
Through trial and error, a new contact management system was born. In reality, there is nothing new about it; I simply started to fill in various fields in the address book and store it in the cloud. It is necessary that the address book should be stored in the cloud because if your phone malfunctions or disappears, you can restore the contacts as soon as you log into your account.
So, here's how I recommend recording contacts:
Last name, First name or Last name, First name, Patronymic — during the first meeting, it's perfectly normal and necessary to ask for the full name. If you didn't catch it, don't hesitate to ask again. But if you do this on the second meeting, it will be disrespectful.
Place of work and position are essential for your client database. During a simple internet search, you can identify the basic needs of people in their professional activities. Perhaps one of them turns out to be a procurement manager in a major construction company, while you may decide to work as a metal trade manager. In other words, you may have contacts of potential clients without even realizing it. So take immediate action to bring order!
The birthday is a crucial date. It's a way to break the ice with pleasant words or with a thoughtful gift for your partner.
Professional holidays. Do you know, for example, when Lawyer's Day is? Write down that date separately and set a reminder.
During the conversation, other important details may come up, such as marital status, pets, hobbies like skiing or snowboarding, children, and much more. Your memory won't retain ALL of this information, so notes are perfect (just make sure they are synchronized via the cloud to your new devices). Based on these details, you can make various useful conclusions in the future.
Place of work and position are essential for your client database. During a simple internet search, you can identify the basic needs of people in their professional activities. Perhaps one of them turns out to be a procurement manager in a major construction company, while you may decide to work as a metal trade manager. In other words, you may have contacts of potential clients without even realizing it. So take immediate action to bring order!
The birthday is a crucial date. It's a way to break the ice with pleasant words or with a thoughtful gift for your partner.
Professional holidays. Do you know, for example, when Lawyer's Day is? Write down that date separately and set a reminder.
During the conversation, other important details may come up, such as marital status, pets, hobbies like skiing or snowboarding, children, and much more. Your memory won't retain ALL of this information, so notes are perfect (just make sure they are synchronized via the cloud to your new devices). Based on these details, you can make various useful conclusions in the future.
If you had a face-to-face meeting, write down the person's car make and number. You can pleasantly surprise your partner or client by arranging a parking pass for their car in the future, or it might come in handy to law enforcement if the person turns out to be a fraudster.
Who introduced you is an important detail as well. I always write down how I got acquainted with a person. My brain remembers people through association, and it's always possible to ask the person who introduced us to remind the contact about me or find other useful ways for an influence.
In short, maintaining order in the address book is challenging, but it significantly increases our work efficiency. Everything depends on our desire. Order in things that surround us creates order in our minds, and an organized mind makes it easier to earn money.
Who introduced you is an important detail as well. I always write down how I got acquainted with a person. My brain remembers people through association, and it's always possible to ask the person who introduced us to remind the contact about me or find other useful ways for an influence.
In short, maintaining order in the address book is challenging, but it significantly increases our work efficiency. Everything depends on our desire. Order in things that surround us creates order in our minds, and an organized mind makes it easier to earn money.
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OGRN 1171215006489