How to manage your contacts – tips from a Virtual Assistant
How to manage your contacts
I have generally found that after attending networking meetings, I often come home with arms full of business cards. What to do with them is the next question?
Do you keep them all in a little box, beautifully organised in alphabetical order but then find you are out and about and don’t have the information that you need to hand? Do you keep them in your wallet and then you just can’t find your Tesco Clubcard when you need it amongst the mass of shiny cards? Do you bump into someone and know you have met them before and their business card is not to hand to give you a quick reminder of any notes you made on the back?
I’ve found a solution that works for me, and helps me keep track of who I met where, and the information I need about them.
I use a simple and FREE business card scanner on my mobile called Cam Card. I simply scan the card and the app reads the information and kindly formats it into a usable format. It also takes a handy photo of the card for future reference which is useful if you want to stop just there and keep the information to hand as you can refer back to it later. Sometimes some minor editing needs to be done if the business card is particularly colourful, shiny or not very well laid out.
From here, I export the data into my gmail contacts. I find this helpful for two reasons, firstly it is easier to edit the data here (change the fields, correct spellings etc) but secondly there is an add-on within gmail that allows me to link straight to a person’s social media accounts – I will explain more about this in my next blog.
Lastly, from here I export into my CRM system – I currently use a FREE system called Capsule CRM (shown above). Once uploaded into Capsule, I then add tags (I use a tag of the place that I met them and what type of business contact they may be) as well as creating a handy file note to remind myself of the meeting and any useful information that I found out. I am then able to easily search for someone in the search fields. I also find the tasks facility handy as I can set up reminders for me to call people or follow up on something. Capsule CRM also has a mobile app, so I can access all the information about my contacts on the go, and if I happen to meet them again and want to make a note of our conversation, I don’t need to wait to log in to my laptop.
As a Virtual Assistant, I need to make sure that the tools I use are flexible and mobile and I have found this system really works for me. There are masses more benefits to Capsule CRM, so check them out!
Don’t forget that to comply with GDPR you should only keep the details for as long as you need them.
If you have any tips for managing your contacts, I would love to hear about them, post about them below.
If you’d like to try Capsul for yourself, click this link.
If you have a pile of business cards that need to be input into your record systems, why not delegate the task to us? Call us on 07814 218142 or email joanne@joannemanville.co.uk
I really enjoyed the practicality of what you posted. I will have to check out those tools you mentioned, they tickled my organizational mind 😉 Thanks for sharing!
Glad you found it useful Nicola
I can’t thank you enough for this article. I am now using the CamCard scanner and it’s saving me a lot of time. Yes I have to check that the scan has captured all the data but I rarely have to edit more than a few tweaks. I’ve gone from ‘groaning’ when the boss hands me another stack of business cards to ‘smiling sweetly’ whilst I scan. You’ve saved me precious time. I salute you.
Thanks for commenting Karen, really pleased that you’ve found something to save you time, as time is sooo precious as a PA! Best wishes