Help, I’m Drowning in Details!

Sylva Leduc, M.Ed., MPEC; www.sageleaders.com

Sylva Leduc is a business and executive coach and the co-founder and former owner of Client Compass, a client information management system for coaches and consultants. Leduc points out: “If you are doing a good job at meeting new people, you’ll quickly amass a large number of business cards. It’s not too challenging to remember the details about ten or twenty people. If you have a phenomenal memory, you might even recall the specifics about a hundred folks you’ve met. But beyond that, you’d better have a contact management system in place, or you’ll soon be drowning in details.” She suggests:

A simple paper-based system can work for a while, but to be truly efficient and effective, consider one of the many contact management systems available. They save you time; instead of shuffling through piles and files of paper, you can instantly put your fingers on information. And contact managers make you look like a genius when you remember those tiny little details about someone.

You can find the best system for your own type of business by conducting an Internet search for “contact management system” or “client information management.” Be sure to use quotation marks to keep the search targeted. Then, evaluate some of the many different systems available. If you can find a review from one of the computing magazines, that’s even better because they will have done all the research for you. Ask your colleagues for the name of the program they use, their likes and dislikes, how easy it is to use, if training and technical support is available, and the costs.

Then buy and learn how to use the system. Don’t let it sit around gathering dust. Every time you speak with someone, enter notes in your “virtual filing cabinet.” In a short time you’ll become trusted as the person who cares enough to remember the details about everyone.