Everybody in sales has some form of a database, even if it is just the contacts in your phone. But at ReminderMedia, we often quote the adage, “Your net-worth is in your network.” Every person you know, every person you interact with, should be recorded in an organized database.

At ReminderMedia, we work with service based sales professionals, and the first thing a new client has to do when they sign up for our products is send us a contact list. So many of our new clients do not even have a formal list at their disposal.

In an effort to get our listeners started on a profitable contact list, we wrote up a list of people to include in your database, basically as an exercise to get your wheels turning.

A solid contact list is not just a great asset to keep you organized, but it is also helps you to drive referrals. According to a New York Times study that survey several industries, 65% of your business should be coming from referrals. When you have your contact list in order, you can easily maintain contact with your sphere and leverage the outreach to drive new business through referrals.

Three groups that should be on your list are:

1. Friends and family
2. Members of your social routine
3. Past and Current Clients

Sit down and list everybody that exists in your life for these three categories.

Once you have that initial list, you need to segment the information you’ve amassed. Segmentation is crucial, because different contacts will require different kinds marketing. Maybe you deal with seniors, maybe you work with wealthy families, maybe your main demographic is first-time homebuyers.

It’s best to visualize your list as a dart board. The outer part will be your target audience. This is simply your ideal demographic.

Then there are the folks that you’ve interacted with. This is the next stage inward on your target.

Then you have hot leads. These are the people on your contact list that you want to be reaching out to everyday.

And finally, the bull’s eye of your target will be your advocates. You want to advance very person on your list into your advocate segment, so they sing your praises and deliver more business, both in the form of repeat business and referrals.

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