How to Manage Your Contact Lists

In the world of event planning and communications you have to maintain a contact list of vendors and professionals. I recommend having one solid list of all of your contacts. This way you can always separate them into the necessary categories. If you have one master list you can not go wrong.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Create an Excel document with each card's information. You should have fields that include name, profession, address, phone number and date of meeting. You can organize the document by separating the contacts by profession.

2. When you get new business cards or contact info be sure to make a copy of the cards and place the copies in the file.

3. Place the actual cards in a rolodex so that they are in alphabetical order.

4. Once you have all of your contacts on your master list you can create sub lists. You should have a different list for each category: vendors, writers and venues to name a few.

5. It is imperative that you go through your lists and update them at least twice a year. People change positions and companies often in the world of communications. You want to always make sure that you are contacting the correct people.