Software Solutions for Keeping Track of Your Contacts

Most Speakers' organizations are onr- or tweo person operations. This means that, while you call your self a speaker, you are also an accountant,a marketer, a promoter, and a business manage. You also have to contend with developing a website, staying current with what is
going on in your field of expertise, and, of course, creating and maintaining that important database. With all of these extra tasks, speaking is more than a full-time job. Sometimes it feels like two or three jobs!

Of course, new technologies are a big help. But be forewarned: it is not always in your best interest to go out and buy the latest new software “toy” to help you with your burgeoning workload. Take a good look at your own home computer. You may find that there is a lot of technology and software on it that you have not as yet even tried to utilize. I was recently at a talk given by David Paradi, where he discussed how to leverage your laptop instead of resorting to the latest officeware“gadget.” I found it to be good advice.

Another option is to consider new software that works along with the software package that you already use. Much of this new software is free and available to everyone on the Internet. For example, I recently discovered an “add-on” tool that helps to keep my contacts database up to date. Its called Good Contacts and it works like a dream.

E-mail is a great way to stay in touch, but it is not perfect. Sometimes e-mails bounce back because your contact information is not current. People change their email quite often, and there is no system on the web to guarantee that your out-going e-mail gets forwarded, the way the post office will forward a letter. To help you track down just who is getting, or not getting your emails, Good Contacts will send out a verification email to everyone on your entire database, asking your contacts to verify all of their contact information. Then it will record all the bounce backs and update all your records with the latest information that it receives. Best of all, it works great with the system tools that I already have in place. I use Act as my contact management tool, because it allows me to create a sales funnels and other reports, and it integrates well with my Palm Pilot, so I have my contacts and entire history with me at all times. Good Contacts is an Act add-on, so it can keep me up to date all the time. It also works with Outlook Professional, and Outlook Express if you are using one of these as your contact management tool.

I recently downloaded the demo software, for a two-week free trial. Good Contacts sent out its verification email to my entire database, (over 1200 contacts,) in just under an hour. Then, over the next two weeks, as people responded, it updated in excess of 400 contacts with new information, showed me over 300 bad email addresses in my database and displayed all the bounce backs. With this information, I could focus my attention on those contacts that I needed to chase down or simply eliminate from my database.

All of this was free. With a purchase of the subscription service, Good Contacts will validate all my contact information every 3 to 6 months
for $49.95 US. As far as I am concerned, this is a great value.

Check out their web-site at I always tell my clients that time is never in short supply, although we like to think that way. Time is a constant. It's how we budget our time that makes the difference. I hope this little tip helps you to organize your time more effectively.

Michael McGauley The Dream Builder www.goodcontacts.com.
Tips for a Small Business: Software Solutions for Keeping Track of Your Contacts By

Michael McGauley, B.A., ATM, is a national motivational speaker, coach and corporate trainer. For additional articles or to book Michael for your next event, visit www.thedreambuildersinc.com, email mike@thedreambuildersinc.com, or call 1-866-878-8289