Your Contact List is your lifeline. Managing it well is essential to your success. Let’s look at the skills required for an effective automated phone number and address system.
Sharing updates
Whether you operate in Microsoft Outlook, Google Contacts, or Apple Address Book, the great benefit of the habit of updating your contacts is the ability to share those updates with your network. As a past member of an executive team and now a consultant, I am constantly sharing and adding contacts.
Contact list features
Contact list software offers many valuable features such as the ability to identify and screen callers. Consider the time wasted on interruptions from answering meaningless calls.
The searchability of contact software allows you to access email addresses and phone numbers quickly. All smartphones and computers use the standard contact nomenclature.
You also can set up groups in your contacts. This allows you to reach several people at once, rather than sending multiple emails or texts. Group emails save time and the potential embarrassment of forgetting a key player for an important decision-making session. Finally, contact software is available for scanning calling cards. When starting a meeting with new people, scan their calling cards. This practice will increase your advocacy with your personnel, vendors, and clients.
Set up folders
The standard Contact folder isn’t for just storage — it can be used to transfer contacts into other named folders. Moving contacts into specified group folders on the sidebar of your screen makes it easier to remember and locate a new or seldom seen acquaintance. For example, if you can’t remember a contact’s name but you know he is one of your competitors, you can look in your folder named “competitors.” Listing other pertinent information in a contact’s notes also broadens your search capabilities.
Maximize list utility
Maximize the utility of your contact list program by keeping it up-to-date, taking advantage of its many features, and setting up a robust folder system. A carefully managed contact list is critical to business success.
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