Time is money. It’s a cliché with the advantage of being perfectly true, so organizing your time effectively can be a huge boost for your business.

What is your time worth? Just think of all the time you spend entering contact information from networking events into your database. It may be worth it to look at incorporating an application that does more than just keep track of names and addresses.

Thanks to the growing popularity of CRM (customer relationship management software), you’ve got many options. Software like Maximizer and ACT and web-based applications like Salesforce.com allow you to plug contact information into applications that can keep track of your entire sales process.

Many SMBs are using these kinds of tools to do things like synchronize and update contact information by importing from other sources, track business appointments, share the database with colleagues and more. These kinds of tech-savvy organizing tools for business can be very cost effective.

Start thinking about how much your time is worth and then look for the tools that will help you maximize your efforts.

- Linda Chu, CEO – Out of Chaos

After you meet people at networking events, you come away with a targeted handful of business contacts. But are you prepared with the proper follow-up tools?

Take the time to build information templates which can be customized for each contact. Trust me, I remember those days when a phone call or an email comes in and I was scrambling to re-create the wheel when it came to organizing my contacts information. But with the tools business people have been using for years, from social networks like LinkedIn to your laptop’s built-in address book, it’s easy to keep track.

But don’t just keep track. Engage your new contacts. Put some thought into the following promotional pieces:

1. Templates for email follow-up after a networking event.
2. General information on your company
3. Marketing pieces for your product / service
4. Fee schedules
5. Terms and conditions of engagement / contact

Investing some time (and dollars) in creating these foundational pieces will allow you time to nurture your contacts and keep you and your business at the top of their mind.

- Linda Chu, CEO – Out of Chaos