You’ve been out networking, collecting business cards and promoting your service. Great! Now it’s time to do something with those business cards. That’s where a database comes in handy. A database is just a fancy name for a list of names and details of prospects and clients. You can use sophisticated software to manage your list (Infusionsoft or Active Campaign are great for big lists) but if you’ve only got a small list, start with Mail Chimp or even an Excel spreadsheet to get started. Mail Chimp is free if you have under 2000 subscribers.
Your database will become your most valuable resource without a doubt. This is what other people will pay you for if you want to sell your business. They won’t buy you (because you’ll be off in the Bahamas sailing your yacht). They’ll be buying your goodwill and client list. Start now. All you need to collect at this stage is salutation (Ms/Mr/Dr etc.), first name, last name, address, phone numbers, email, website and company name.
Once you’ve got your list, you’ll want to start contacting them to educate them about what you do. That’s where your email newsletter will come in handy. More on that later. In the meanwhile, keep collecting those business cards, treat them seriously and enter the data into your database. You’ll be glad you did. This is how you start automating your marketing.
Action: Sign up for an app like Mailchimp or, if you’re not ready for that, simply use an Excel spreadsheet. And diarise when your first email newsletter comes out.
