If your business depends upon referrals, then you know how important it is to keep up with your network. I recently introduced you to Contactually, our recommended CRM, because it’s a tool aligned with some of Mindmaven’s best practices. Contactually not only encourages you to act upon recommendations that help you stay top of mind with your network, it’s an awesome tool for understanding how well you’re doing.
Contactually is the CRM that helps you stay top of mind with your network! Tweet this
A little while back, I provided five simple steps for getting started with Contactually, so you could quickly get it running. One of my key suggestions was to start out by focusing on just a few buckets. What I’d like to do now is elaborate on the three buckets I believe will make the most significant impact to your bottom line. If you are in a relationship-based business, these buckets form the core of your revenue-generating opportunities, and without them your bucketing system may not be as strong. As you read on, I encourage you to consider the ways that these buckets can help your business grow when you fill them with the right people.
The Three Buckets You Absolutely Must Have
1. Former Clients
These are all your past clients who have seen your work and can speak to its quality. They will easily endorse you and speak positively to others, encouraging people to work with you. Staying top of mind with them is a no-brainer. If you have a list of former clients, then populating this bucket is easy. When you set up this bucket, you’ll want to set a reminder frequency for how often to touch them. Typically, you’ll choose from 45, 60, or 90 days, depending on the kind of business you’re in. What I suggest is to reach out to former clients every 45 days, and then calibrate from there.
2. Legends
Your legends are the people who have the greatest likelihood of sending you high-quality referrals. They are typically a smaller group within your network, but they are great supporters of your business objectives. Legends also have a willingness to introduce you to the kinds of deals you’re looking for, so I would set a reminder frequency to reach out to them every 45 days. To do a simple exercise that will help you identify your Legends, take a look in our NRM Series at Tip#4: How to Focus on the People Who Matter Most. If you don’t touch base with these people on a regular basis, you are very likely leaving real money on the table.
3. Futures
Assuming you have a pipeline process in place, futures are the people you’re not able to close a deal with right away. However, there’s a very good chance they’ll be looking to buy a product or service like yours in the near future. They are your potential clients. In the sales process, these people often fall through the cracks, even though they’re some of the most valuable contacts you have in terms of their ability to generate revenue. An easy way to identify futures is by estimating whether they have a 50% chance or better likelihood of purchasing your product or service over the next 18 months. Staying top of mind with futures can yield an unexpected sale at the end of the quarter, so I would aim to touch these people at least every 45 days.
Reach out to the people who can send you referrals every 45 days! Tweet this
With these three buckets at the core, many of my clients have had very good experiences. Are you ready now to set up your buckets and get the ball rolling? In our next blog, I’ll share some basic principles when designing your own buckets, so you can avoid making common mistakes and increase the efficiency of your bucketing system right from the start.
Image courtesy of kconnors at morguefile.com[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
