How to Sort Your Prospects from Your Friends - OR NOT
As a marketing speaker and marketing coach, I've made about 977 mistakes, gaffes, and blunders in my career. And I'm nowhere near done... 
What do those look like? Well, let's see... I've overspent, underspent, trusted the wrong people, accepted work for the wrong audiences and with nightmare clients, dipped into and out of more niches and service offerings than I'd care to name - and learned a few lessons along the way.
The punchline that has emerged is "I've made all the crazy, expensive mistakes and wasted years of effort so YOU don't have to." Which brings us to the topic at hand - the mistake of separating your prospects and your friends.
As I was sorting my email this morning, this dilemma occurred to me. I got a very nice catch-up note from a speaker and trainer in California whom I hired on several occasions when I was a conference producer and with whom I have stayed friendly over the years. We've even talked about the possibility of doing some work together since she is great at what she does but not so strong in the marketing arena.
Problem: Where do I file her email? I have one folder called Archives where I put notes from my personal and business friends and another folder called Leads where I put folks who may at some point be interested in having a "meaningful conversation" with me (in the words of my pal, Mark LeBlanc)
So where does she go? I dunno... and it turns out that that's a GOOD thing!
You've heard the cliche that people do business with folks they know, like, and trust. That's not a stranger. That's a friend. Business friend - personal friend - is there a difference? In the words of Harvey Mackay, there is "no such thing as a business relationship. ALL relationships are personal relationships."
Another way to think about it came from a quote that I randomly came across - and I wish I could remember the source - if you can help, drop me a line...
"Your rolodex is your ministry"
Wow. There it is right there - the people you know, like, and trust. Although we don't use Rolodexes anymore (if you don't what one is, click here), these are the same folks who are in your iPhone Contacts or Outlook or Gmail address book. Those are your peeps. That is your tribe.
Those are the folks you are meant to serve.
So why are you still reading? Pick up the phone - send that email - write that card. Your ministry of friends, prospects and clients are waiting to hear from you. DO IT!