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Everyone knows that marketing and sales is a numbers game. But I bet your numbers are sloppy because your data is sloppy. Don’t feel bad. You’re not alone. Most companies/organizations we’ve ever worked with had sloppy data resulting in sloppy numbers. Even MarketSmart.
That’s because your data is constantly evolving and constantly changing. Contacts get hired and fired. Some are premium targets and others are stinkers that need to be purged.
Here are 3 surefire steps to get your data in order.
Step one- Collect all the data you have and put it all in folders. Be sure to label each file name citing where it came from. For instance, you might want to label sales leads garnered from the tradeshow in November as “TradeshowNOV”. That way you can be more easily include an “origination field” or “source code” in the final database. By doing so you’ll be able to sort your data more easily.
Step two- Send it to a trusted data manager (like MarketSmart! J). Depending on your relationship with that vendor, you may want to have them sign a non-disclosure and/or non-compete agreement. You don’t want your data to fall into the hands of your competitors.
Step three- Give your data manager this list of “things to do”:
Once your data is “cleansed”, you will reduce costs by reducing the time and effort you would otherwise waste time on prospects that are simply not worthwhile anymore. Plus, now you should be able to take a serious look at your data to see which clients are producing the most revenue and profits for you. Of course, maximizing your 80/20 is a subject for another blog post.
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