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To celebrate 2007, I'm sending you 10 ACT tips
as New Year's resolutions for your database
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10.  I will clean out my old contacts. I have thousands of names in my database, and many are no longer up to date. Merge and Purge!

9.  I will delete my unused Groups. I will "use them or lose them."

8.  I will schedule time to get my newsletter out regularly (for me it is the ACT Tips).

7.  I will flag all customer contacts with missing or bounceback email addresses  (I enter "Email failed" in the Last Results field) and then schedule time to call them to update their record. (When I update the record, I clear the Last Results field.)

6.  I will stop setting alarms, except when I REALLY need them. More than one alarm a day is too many. Alarms are unnecessary if I keep my eye on my Task List. (If you change the Task List Dates: filter to "Past" you can always see what is on your list.)

5.  I will erase or clear the old activities on my Task List (try the right-click method). I will NEVER get to those incomplete tasks from a year ago. If I can't keep up with activities I schedule for myself, I will design a more realistic follow-up plan.

4.  I will call or e-mail one day ahead to confirm all my Meetings (set the Task List Dates: filter to "Tomorrow" if you are using the newer version of ACT).

3.  When someone hands me a business card, I will write a few words on the card to remind me about this person (how many business cards do I have that I can't remember why I have them in the first place?) Then I will enter every business card I have in ACT!, coding the contact record with REFERRED BY (where I met this person), ID/STATUS (in which category(ies) will I want to communicate with this person again), and entering my "few words" into LAST RESULTS (which will automatically record a time/date-stamped history for me under the HISTORY tab, saving me an extra step).

2.  When I make an unscheduled call, I will ALWAYS record it in ACT with my keyboard shortcut CTRL+H.

1.  When I clear an activity, I will ALWAYS schedule a follow-up activity so I never lose track of an important contact in my follow-up system.

BONUS:  I will NOT become a poster child for short-sighted database marketers. I will back up my database daily. (I'll expand on that one in my next tip.)

Happy New Year!
To your success,
Susan

P.S.  You know, [[Salutation]], in case you missed the subliminal reminders of my upcoming "Follow-Up System Blueprint Workshop", you can read about it here. (Only 7 seats left.) I really hope you'll be there because I created this workshop for you. I can't tell you how many times I'm asked, "Susan what's the best way to use ACT to keep in touch with my customers?"  Following up is also THE MOST important purpose of having a customer database! (I get new business every time I send out one of my tips like this one.) Why not get some more sales for yourself in 2007? You deserve them! My workshop will show you how. E-mail me quick. I've only got 10 seats left.

P.P.S. If you live in the Houston area, you can get more time management and ACT database organization tips at our next Houston Area ACT User Group meeting on Tuesday, January 9th from 6-7:30pm. Schedule it in your calendar now so you can plan on attending.