By Todd Duncan

To consistently add value, you must maintain an accurate bank of information on your clients.  Here are eleven guidelines for making the most out of your automated contact management system:

1. Make sure you know who originally referred your clients and whom your clients refer to you.

2. Determine the most effective and efficient method of communication (email, cell phone, home, etc) for your clients and log it into your system.

3. Record as much relevant data from your High Trust Interview as possible, including your clients’ Core Values, Highest Value Needs, the rules they told you to play by, their buying strategy, and any other details you feel will help the relationship proceed smoothly.

4. Never talk to a client about a next step or action without immediately logging and alarming that event.

5. Alarm all events that you don’t want to miss (birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, etc.)  Learn your clients’ favorite restaurants, sports teams, colleges, etc. so you can add value in relevant ways.

6. Alarm all points of contact during a transaction that you do not want to miss.  This single step towards being proactive can eliminate seventy-five percent of your reactive phone calls.

7. On all multi-event scenarios, like the quarterly dialogue calls or annual client reviews, schedule them for the life of the relationship.  For example, if you plan to be in business for the next twenty years, schedule these points of contact for the next twenty years, through 2033. 

8. Automate your time blocking schedule and make sure your assistants can access your calendar for maximum efficiency.

9. Automate the details and dates of your value-adding campaigns, designing auto processes or activity series.

10. Build templates with merge capabilities for main client communication events so that you don’t have to do so manually or repeatedly as you go.

11. Update key data regularly.

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