How embarrassing would this be when you are making a sales call?
Your list is THE most important tool you own for prospecting. If this isn’t up to date then everything else will fall apart around it.
List fundamentals are easy.
Decide what you want your list for – emailing, posting or a mixture of both. This will determine what information you need to collect and cleanse. You have to make sure you keep on top of your list content because details can change quickly.
If somebody asks you to make an amendment to their details, then do it before you mail out to them again! Not only does this let you know that they value the information you send to them, but it will also annoy them if you continue to mail using the incorrect details. Have a system in place to make data amends quickly.
Decide how you are going to use your list – will you have dedicated customer relationship management (CRM) software, or will you use Microsoft Office for example? What and how often will you mail? CRM software can help you to manage your sales campaigns, including setting reminders for tasks and linking into Microsoft Outlook if you use this as your email client. Some CRM software will also allow you to bank your communications and send later to selected recipients.
Are the people on your list qualified as prospects for your goods or services and is the person you are mailing the one who has the authority to purchase. If not, the likelihood of your mailing getting to the right person is minimal – most often the dustbin or deleted items box are the destinations for irrelevant material.