LA traffic took pity on me this week—I arrived 15 minutes early to a lunch appointment. My first instinct was to use the time productively and call someone. Three categories came to mind:
- Prospective clients—call them to see if I can move their decisions along.
- Existing clients—let them know I was thinking about them and make sure they know I'm fully invested in their success.
- Referral sources—touch base and schedule a lunch for next week.
But I couldn't think of all the people in those categories. So instead, I checked my in-box and fired out a few low-yield administrative emails until my lunch date arrived.
Silly me. I know better. But as I reflect back on that moment (and a hundred others like it), I realize how important it is to have a call list with me at all times. Because without a clear sense of how to best use those 15-minute opportunities, I'll likely just fill them with busywork.
So, this week I'm creating a call list to make my business development a little bit easier. I encourage you to do the same, or, if you already have one, tell us where you keep it and how you use it to answer the question, "who you gonna call?"
