Now, as far as I am concerned and I think as far as the business world is concerned, the days of recipe card record keeping, birthday and phone directory books and hearing a knock at the door followed by “AVON calling” are gone – and they are not coming back!

If you are living in the stone ages, you will not have a business that thrives or even survives in the 21st century.

So, lets fast forward to where we need to be and get settled right in there.

Managing Your Customers – As an entrepreneur, you don’t want a cap on your customers; you want an endless ever increasing number. You also want to be able to maintain accurate information on each one since you will not possibly be able to retain all of this information as your numbers grow.

An electronic means of tracking your contacts is definitely the way to go. Using a program like Microsoft Outlook, or something similar is vital in tracking contacts and their information when dealing with large numbers of people.

There are just a ton of different programs that you can use for contact management, time management and maintaining communication. Have a look at programs like Oprius, I-Contact, Skype and Maximizer and see if they might work for you.

The advantages of using an electronic system are:

  • Breaking down your contacts into endless categories and sub categories such as: Previous Hostesses, Previous Direct Sales, Catalog Requests, Team Members, Head Office Contacts, Other Consultants, Exhibit Contacts, and so on.
  • You are able to store a vast amount of information on each of your contacts including both personal information and information on their previous business interactions with you
  • You can use the Calendar function to manage your time, schedule appointments and set reminders for yourself for things like:  Home Parties, Phone Calls to be made, Customer Service Calls, Re-Book a Previous Customer, Etc.
  • You can use the Task List as an ongoing to do list and eliminate all of those post it notes!
  • You will be able to do focused marketing directed at specific customers based on who they are and what they are looking for or are interested in.

If you have a 21st century handheld, you now have the power to take all of this important information with you wherever you go. People without a cell phone these days are few and far between. If you are in business for yourself, a cell phone is definitely a “Must Have” item. With most plans, when you sign a new contract, you get a new FREE phone or you can pay a minimal amount to upgrade to a higher model.

Is your contract almost up? Find out when your contract expires and make a Blackberry or similar device your next “Must Have” item.

When you have a Blackberry, you can synchronize your Blackberry to your computer daily to keep on track. This way, you can record information and book appointments from anywhere, any time.

You will never double book and never have to tell ANYONE that you will have to get back to them after you check your calendar.

A key piece of information in the home party business is the directions to your hostess’s house which you can record in your contact file in your Outlook program. Unless they move, you will never have to ask your hostess to repeat the complete directions to their house for you again.

Having your own business website is a given today. If you don’t have a website in today’s society, not only will you miss a huge, essential piece of the pie, but you will also not be perceived as having a viable, successful, modern business that they just might want to be a part of. Your business website will not only provide potential and existing customers with current information on the business and the product, it will also connect them with members of your team in their area.

Another 21st century tool you might find useful is the Tom-Tom, or a similar device. Never again will you be late for an appointment because you’ve gotten lost on the way. When you have one of these in your vehicle, you need only to put in your destination address and your are guided right to where you want to go. A lifesaver for anyone who routinely gets lost or who can’t follow directions – you know who you are!

Brandy Burge has been in direct sales for 6 years. She is in the top 10 consultants in Canada with Usborne Books at Home, a Sales Manager with Norwex Enviro Products, and proud owner of NorwexWebsites.com and DreamcatcherWebStudio.com. She does all of this with 2 small children at home.


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