5 simple questions

Try this little exercise when you get a chance:

Open up any random contact record in your CRM software. You want one that's still living, and not known to you personally, so try again until you find one.

Ask yourself 5 simple questions about this contact:

1. Why are they in my CRM software? This is not, "How did they get there?" Rather it's, "Why does my organization want to maintain a relationship with this contact?"

2. What’s a reasonable goal for our relationship with this contact?

3. Where are they now in relation to that goal?

4. What are one or two reasonable pathways to reach that goal?

5. What measurable next step could I take (or could they take) to move them forward on that path?

This should only take a couple of minutes.

If you can't answer those questions for the first contact, try again until you can. (And note how many tries it takes.)

…

So, how’d you do?

Were you able to answer those questions, just based on what’s visible in a given contact record?

Do you have a good sense of the goals you’re moving people toward, and how to get them there?

Was it easy to see the next steps for them (or you) to take?

Here's the thing:

The real value in maintaining your CRM data is not just as a record of addresses, phone numbers, giving history, and membership dates.

It's in having the information you need so you can rally people forward in the cause of your mission.

That takes active planning, creative thinking, and an understanding of the goals you have for each person in your expanding circle of influence.

All of that together is your relationship management system.

And it makes your CRM tracking software much more valuable in your mission than a mere address book.

All the best,
A.