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10 Secrets to Pruning Your List

Written by: Nancy Michaels

Article Overview: I know, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but you are only as good as the ideal client profile or prospect list you create and communicate with in a meaningful way, consistently over time. It’s a simple as that.

10 Secrets to Pruning Your List

I know, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but you are only as good as the ideal client profile or prospect list you create and communicate with in a meaningful way, consistently over time. It’s a simple as that.

Here’s another secret. It’s not about the quantity of your list as much as it is about the quality of your list. Sometimes, in fact most times, less is more. We live in a society that is inundated with a plethora of information available to us at our fingertips. In our quest to build meaningful relationships with prospects and clients, we want to provide them with information that is relevant and has high perceived value to them. The quality of that communication is essential.

Many of you have heard from me quite frequently in the past three weeks. Some of you were annoyed, others were curious, many opted-out, and many more signed up. So, you ask did we intentionally want to raise your emotions when you saw my name hitting your inbox. Here’s why –We were pruning our list. I’m proud to say our list of e-zine readers exceeds the 30,000 mark – quite impressive for a small business like mine. On the other hand, we’re working to ensure that our readers want and choose to receive this information and put it to use to help them in the growth of their business. For those of you who don’t want to receive information on this subject, it’s ok to opt out and we hope you do, because I’d never want to think we were bothering you with information you were not interested in. I do not take it personally at all and neither should you when your e-zine list ebbs and flows.

I had a member of NancyDirect program last year who printed a full-color brochure to distribute to her mailing list of 5,000 individuals who she thought were potential buyers of her training services for new hires on Wall Street. She did not get one response to this mailing. I’m not psychic, but I could have made that prediction had she been enrolled in the program earlier and before deciding to blow a stash of cash on this idea. Don’t get me wrong, the piece was beautifully designed; the copy read well, however, it is a case study in how NOT to utilize direct mail when attempting to appeal to a new group of individuals you want to be known and hired by.

So, let me cut to the chase and tell you my Top 10 Ways to Prune Your List – and allow new and healthier leaves to grow on that tree of yours!


1. Identify who you want to work with in terms of niche markets/industries, the key players in those markets. Are they direct buyers or influencers within your target market (decision makers, CEOs, executive directors of professional associations, editors of trade publications, etc.) who can help to put you on the map and attract attention to who you are and what you do?
2. Think quality, not quantity. My coaching client who sent out a mailing to a list of 5000 people didn’t know one of them and they certainly didn’t know her. Here efforts would have been better spent, mailing six direct mail pieces to a list of 100 and calling them to set up a meeting. Sometimes, in fact most times, less is more.
3. Ask your readers and make it easy for them to do two things, forward your e-zine to someone else who may be interested in your message, or to opt-out of receiving it (don’t worry if folks opt-out, they were never going to buy anything from you in the first place, believe me)
4. When your list is well-pruned – then you have a well-groomed list. You can provide information that is of high value to them and that will entice them to want more from you in order to fill your pipeline with real prospects who might be easily converted to clients
5. Provide people with a way to update their contact information as well, so your list stays clean. If you allow them to make those changes, it’s less work for you as well.
6. Reach out and connect to your list on a regular and consistent basis. Every week, is the ideal to shoot for. If it feels overwhelming to you start once a month and begin to ramp it up after that.
7. Utilize a database management system that helps you to stay organized and focused on who you need to follow-up with and when. You will look professional, and your credibility will rise because people will perceive that you are detail-oriented, committed to the follow-through, and will behave the same way with them, when you secure the business.
8. Collect names and business cards everywhere you go. Fortunately, I’ve worked with major corporations that have given me great access to their small business customer list; hence the size of my database is quite large. I also began collecting the names and contact information of everyone who has heard me speak, responded to an article I’ve written, are members of professional organizations I belong to as well, etc. Build your list organically and maintain it. But make sure that you have the individuals permission before entering their information into your database!
9. Hire someone to input this data, if you are unwilling or too busy to do so yourself. This is money well spent, because your list is one of the most important assets of your business. There are Virtual Assistants who would be happy to input this data for you, so take your shoebox full of business cards and slips of paper (come on, you know what I’m talkin’ about here) and ship them off to someone who will enter this data into a software database management program.
10. Resist the urge to buy a list. Here’s a caveat to that rule. Unless you are targeting a very specific niche market and are willing to commit to mailing (yup, snail mail is what I’m talking about), to them on a consistent basis (I find there’s magic in six consecutive mailings within 10 days of each piece), don’t bother purchasing the list. Trust me; I’m saving you money on this one. If you insist on purchasing the list, look into professional or trade associations and publications that service that niche market. Those lists will include paying members who have made an investment in themselves and may be a better prospect for your services.

OK, that’s enough of me and my rant about pruning your list for higher profits and
reduced costs. Go forth and prosper by cleaning up your database and focus in on
the quality of your list, not the quantity of it!

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Article Tags: client profile, color brochure, e zine, emotions, fingertips, inbox, meaningful relationships, new hires, plethora, prospect list, prospects, small business, wall street, zine readers



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