Whether you are building a client contact list or a member list there are a few key points to take into consideration to help increase the value of your list.

Most member and client contact lists contain one contact for each company. Why is this?  What if that contact moves to another company, leaves the job, is fired, etc.? Who do you contact then?

It is always a good strategy to not only have the person that you consider your key contact/member but also ask for an alternate contact name, title, etc. at the same company.    This enables you to not only grow your list, but also provides you with the ability increase your visibility into other areas of the company.

This really isn’t that difficult to do.  Ask your main contact or member to recommend other people in their organization that may be interested in your services and/or information.  I’m pretty sure that you will receive a positive response from your contacts/members to this question with a listing of a few different contacts.

When visiting with your client, ask them if it would be possible to show you around their facility and introduce you to other departments.  If you have a good relationship with your contact this should be a no brainer and present you with a great opportunity to meet other contacts within the same organization.

One thing I’ve learned over the years that organizations (especially associations) have many layers and many decision makers for various departments.  In most cases, your contact, who may be in the member services department, doesn’t communicate the wonderful products and services that you offer with the IT or Publishing Department.  This relates to lost opportunities and sales.

Asking current members to recommend persons that they feel may be interested or providing them with the opportunity to “forward to a friend” some materials is another way to help increase your list.  This is easily done if you provide targeted member materials via cross media campaigns, meetings/announcement, etc. that you may be marketing to your members, etc.  Adding an option that enables your member to “forward to a friend” allows the member to send the information along and possibly entices the friend to join as well, but also provides you, through programming, to collect the “friends” contact information for marketing.

Multiple contacts within any organization are great ways to strategically build and maintain a valuable marketing list.   Don’t let these opportunities get by you.  Updating your list is the best way to make sure that you have a list of value that will provide you with many opportunities for years.

At some time during your management experience, you’ve probably had that web site project that just won’t end.  The project scope changed about a dozen times throughout the project and although completed and launched, just can’t quite get to the final project sign off.  What do you do?

Good customer service practice says you keep at it until the customer is satisfied. But are you and the customer really putting the necessary effort into the project at this stage?

As a project manager from either side of the spectrum (vendor or client), you always want the project completed to everyone’s satisfaction. This was the goal from the start and something that everyone has tried to accomplish.  But there are instances where due to project scope changes, personnel changes and/or other factors, it is best to realize the stage where you are and admit, that perhaps it’s time to stop and regroup.

Is it time to get someone else involved in the project to shed some light on the next steps?  Is it time to have a meeting to review where the project is and why it is at the current stage then put a plan into place to complete the outstanding items? Is it time to perhaps stop all together and admit that based upon current requirements and/or changes in direction, perhaps it’s best to sign off on what’s completed and go separate ways?

It’s always difficult to come to these decisions, but in the long run it may be the best course of action for a project that just doesn’t seem to have a light at the end of the tunnel.  Trying to continue without clear definition isn’t doing anyone any good, not the vendor or client. Sometimes embracing the situation and going to the next stage is the best course of action.

Both sides, client and vendor, would appreciate the honesty and the fact that a strategy/plan has been put into place, whether ending or continuing.  There is a light, you just need to realize it and take the next step.