It's simple. You can teach it to the rawest recruit in your office.
It's sound. Nothing will fall through the cracks.
It's safe. You'll never lose data unless the building burns down around you.
And (near and dear to MY heart) it's dirt cheap!
Last week's post Networking Heritage? Her Mom Was a Realtor (about super networker Lori Riegel) had a teaser:
Lori has a simple (and simply the most effective) two-book system for tracking her business contacts. I'll share that with you in another post later this week. (The system was a gift to Lori from Lois, her predecessor as Marketing Consultant at the Arizona Jewish Post.)
Here's the system. It's so easy. One, Two, Three!
1. Buy two inexpensive planners, Big Red and Little Black.
Big Red is a Week at a Glance; Little Black has a two-page spread
for each day.
2. Big Red holds a written record of
- Appointments scheduled
- Things to do
- Phone calls to make
3. Little Black is a daily log of
- Appointments held today
- Calls made today
The system has a set of simple rules.
- Always keep the two books together
- Use the "trusted bucket" concept. No little post-it notes,
scraps of paper, etc. - When a Big Red item is complete, scratch a line through it. It's done.
- 2 X per week: Go through Big Red. If a call hasn't been made, schedule it forward, and put a line through it. Ditto "to do's."
Lori maintains electronic records--she uses a Palm Pilot and synchronizes it
with her desktop computer. Nothing goes in the Palm Pilot first, though. It's for backup and quick reference.
EDIT: See Lori's comment below. The Palm Pilot gets the appointments. MJ
The best things in life are simple and easy. And cheap! LOL
Mike in Tucson
