Ever feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of new people you meet? Do you sometimes feel like you've got so many business cards on your desk (in your purse, on the kitchen table, in your car) that you don't have the foggiest idea where to start cultivating those leads?

Well, if you're buried under an avalanche of cards, and are looking for a system on turning those new contacts into profitable clients, then check out our three easy steps towards increased sales success.

Step 1: Create some type of electronic database. I know, I know. I can hear the screams already. "But I have a Rolodex." "But my business card holder is easier to carry around." "But I'm not really a computer person."

Here's the thing: If you're meeting three to five new people each week, and you've been in the business (or plan to be) for more than a year, then you're looking at 150-250 new contacts each year. Every year. And that's a conservative figure since I'm sure you get more than five new cards a week.

Can your business card holder or Rolodex allow you to quickly find Steve Smith, a key contact you met last year who's now in the market, without having to physically search through all the other "S's" on file? Of course not. And even if it did, it would take too much time.

So here's what you do. For the technically challenged, go to your computer, and press the "Start" button in the lower left hand corner of the screen. Move your mouse to "Programs" and then to "Microsoft Excel".

Once in the program, type "Last" (tab over one), "First" (tab), "Phone#" (tab) and "Phase". (I'll explain this last one in Step 2.) Then key in the last name, first name and phone number of each new person you meet.

For those of you who already have a bunch of cards from years past, that's fine. Just type in the names of each new contact you make going forward, and if you want to come back to the old ones later on, that's good too.

(By the way, this would be a great opportunity to have your kids help out during the summer time when they're home from school. Just sit them down for an hour, and get those old cards typed right up.)

Step 2: Segment your contacts based on the number of times you met them. Here's where the "Phase" column comes in, and actually it's the best part of having an electronic database.

In this column I want you to type in the number, 1, 2, or 3 based on the number of times you physically met this contact. So if you and John met one time at a local networking event, then a "1" would go by his name. If you subsequently went out to coffee and spent a few minutes getting to know him better, then you've met him twice and he gets a "2".

Here's the beauty of this system. You can now sort your contacts by how well you know those individuals, and make a concerted effort towards deepening the relationships of the people in your network.

Why is that so important?

Because people do business (New business! New Business!) with people they know and trust. So if you haven't gotten much business from the people you already "know", then it's probably because they don't feel like they know you that well. And who's going to trust the biggest transaction of their personal lives with someone they don't know?

Not me, that's for sure.

But now you can see just how well you know your contact base, and take the appropriate actions for getting to know those folks before they're ready to buy a house and (potentially) choose another Realtor.

Step 3: Meet with one person from each tier once a week. So at the beginning of the week, look at all the "1's" on your database and shoot the first five an email saying you'd like together for coffee or something and "catch up".

Nothing too fancy, you just want to reconnect, get some coffee and go from there. (From my experience, about half will reply back.)

During the following week, do the exact same thing with the first five "2's" on your database. Repeat with the "3's", and then start over the next week with the "1's".

Here's the bottom line: Every Realtor wants new business. Every client wants to work with a Realtor they already know.

This targeted approach will help you get more business, close more sales, and you'll feel great while networking like a pro!

Published: July 12, 2004

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As a popular speaker and author of the resource How to Get More Business in Today's Tough Market, Brian specializes in helping busy agents get more leads and close more deals - even in a market as "challenging" as this. For a free report on 2 Easy Ways to Get More Business in Today's Tough Market, just email my office and we'll send it right over.