Grow Your List of Contacts to Harvest Big Rewards

We all know successful business people who have lots of contacts.  They know lots of people, and more importantly, lots of people know them. And with the growth of social networks, you can now be connected to more people than ever before.

But what’s a contact worth? 

Well a dollar value  has finally been placed on the value of each of your contacts.   IBM and researchers at MIT did a study that proved top producers have more connections.   They even went so far as to put a dollar value on each contact – $948.

I can tell you from experience, a contact is only worth what you invest in them.   If you collect a list of names, but never call them, send them a card, send them an email or contact them – the list of names is worthless.

On the other hand, if you build a list of names and invest in communicating with them like a farmer tends his crops, then you will grow rich rewards.

With the advent of social networking tools like Linkedin and Facebook, many professionals think they are doing a good job.

The smart professional knows you need to send your communication across multiple channels, touching the person several times a year.   So don’t just send an email.   Send a card, call them, send out a newsletter – mix it up and have regular value added touches.

So you don’t have time to do the follow up because you are too busy getting new clients? Are you the  dog chasing his tail? 

You see,  I recently read another study that said only 14% of people would hire someone from an ad, while 78% of people would take the recommendation from a friend or family member.    Are you spending enough time on getting a recommendation 78% of the time, or are you focusing on the 14%?

Don’t get the wrong impression, you have to get new clients.  But the smart professional also knows that tending their list will yield massive rewards.  So use all the new social networking tools and the best traditional techniques like sending a card.   Invest in your contact list and prepare for the $948 harvest .

  
 
Dedicated to your success.

Greg Pitstick & Bill Brown