DOCUMENT THROUGH YOUR DAY

Most of the issues that my clients, as small business owners, have revolve around communications. Misunderstandings are costly in a variety of ways: a customer may be lost, time in resolving the issue is non-productive, money may be lost and the stress of having to deal with the situation is another pain.

At BizQuack this subject has been addressed before, but I feel that it is worth repeating. Learn to follow these simple rules.

• Have a spiral notebook at your desk by your phone. Whenever you make a call or receive a call, make a few notes as to the time, day and subject discussed. Don’t forget to add the name of the person with whom you are speaking as well as their contact information.
• Carry a pocket size spiral note book with you at all times. Repeat the same procedure as if you were at your office.
• Yes, you can use your computer and/or i-pad to replace the spiral notebooks, but I find that often times I am on my computer when calling and writing down the information is easier.
• All e-mails, sent or received, should be filed with the subject to which it pertains. Again, depending on your comfort zone, they can be printed out or stored in the appropriate file.
• The same procedure should be followed with any written material that is provided to or received from a prospect or client.

The benefits of this system are many:

• You have a record of all your transactions. (they may even be useful in case of a lawsuit; check with your attorney)
• You have contact information on customers and prospects and know what your last discussion was about.
• For marketing, it shows your outreach as to how many prospecting or sales calls you are making.

This is not rocket science, but it is one of the most useful pieces of advice that I can share. Creating good habits takes a few months, but once established you will reap great rewards from this process.

Keeping records and writing it down will save you a lot of headaches in the future.  BizQuack