How many people do you think you know?
Back when I worked in the peripherals of the wedding industry, we estimated that the average wedding invited about 300 people, with 150 friends & family for each person getting married.
But advances in social media have changed things.
By some estimates, the average American knows about 600 people.
As a small business owner, I bet your network is even bigger.
Think of all the people we meet!
Signers, escrow officers, attorneys, medical staff, maybe a day job, family & friends, our hobbies and extracurricular activities, networking meetings, Zoom calls…
I bet you know a lot of people. Probably more than you realize.
And this network of people around you is your most valuable business asset.
Having clarity of who is actually in your network leads to reverence, or deep respect, for the powerful connections you already have.
Do you want to get excited about your business again? Create a “No-Pressure” Contact List.
When you see how many people you actually have around you in ONE place, it can inspire hope and possibilities.
And it’s “No-Pressure” because you don’t have to do anything at all with this list if you don’t want to.
Don’t worry, I’ll walk you through it. I even created a little worksheet if you’re into that kind of stuff.
How to Create a “No-Pressure” Contact List
Before we get started, ballpark the number of people you think are in your personal/professional network and write that number somewhere on the first page of the workbook.
A few ground rules (although it is YOUR business and you make the rules):
Whether you choose to use the workbook or not, consider handwriting this list. There is something powerful that happens through writing versus typing. What we are creating here is NOT a CRM or database. This is just an exercise. Trust me.
When I first did these exercises, in nearly every business I was ever excited about, I used a legal pad. Any type of paper works. Grab a notebook or print out the workbook and let’s get started.
Also, don’t “qualify” anyone on your list yet. If you know them, they belong on the list. We don’t have to determine if they need a notary, a fingerprint tech, or an apostille agent right now. Whether they’re eighteen years old, or ninety-nine years old, put them on your list.
You don’t even have to add contact info-in fact don’t add contact info. It will exhaust you and jam things up. All we want are names and maybe where you think you could find their contact info later if you wanted to, ie FB messenger, phone contacts, Gmail addresses, Instagram DM, etc.
And finally, have some tools at the ready to help you identify your contacts. These tools include your phone & computers with access to email accounts, Social media accounts, address books, etc.
Summary of Rules:
Handwrite this list
Don’t qualify people-add everyone you know
Don’t include contact information
Have access to tools you need
Start Freestyle with a Top of Mind List- Add the First 20 Names
Before we get into some prompts, let’s just freewrite a list of twenty people that happen to be top of mind for you. In the workbook, this is your Top of Mind List. If you need more than one page, feel free to print another one.
Easy Next Prompt: Add 20 Recent Contacts From Your Phone
Go through your phone’s activity for the last thirty days and see if you’ve had any recent contacts that you forgot in the freewriting exercise. Don’t stress about duplicates. It’s okay to have a few dupes! See if you can get to twenty contacts for this exercise too!
Check Your:
Call history
Text messages
Email inboxes
Social dm’s
Whatsapp
Next Prompt: Add 20 Family Members
Again, if you’ve already added family members to the other pages, you don’t have to re-add them here. Just keep going with twenty family members you hadn’t thought of yet. Feel free to use your phone, address books, or social media to identify your family members. We all need a prompt every now and again!
Start with your immediate family and work out further and further.
Think of:
Aunts and uncles
Great aunts and uncles
Grandparents
Kids
Kids’ partners
Cousins
Second-cousins
Third cousins, twice removed
You get the point!
Next Prompt: Add 20 Friends
Use any tool you’d like to write down twenty of your friends!
Think about:
Childhood friends (who’s your longest lasting friendship?)
Neighbors
Sports teams or Hobby teams
Social groups
Charity organizations
Church/Spirituality
Next Prompt: Add 20 Colleagues
Adding twenty colleagues to your list may be a challenge, especially if you’re brand new to business, but that’s okay. Do your best!
Think about:
Current notary colleagues
Former colleagues
Mentors
Bosses
Owners
Direct reports
Networking groups
Next Prompt: Add 20 Customers
Whether for this business, a previous business, or an old job, see if you can come up with the names of twenty customers.
Use these tools to find your customers:
Your CRM software
Older emails
Previous orders
Notary Journal
Next Prompt: Add 20 People or Businesses You Buy Stuff/Services From
This is my favorite part. I am equal parts loyal and lazy. I tend to stick with people/brands/businesses I either love to support, or I’m just too lazy to find something else. Either way, they go on the list!
Where do you spend your money:
Hairdresser/Barber
Spa/Nails
Lawn Services
Attorney
Doctors
Pet Sitters/Walkers
Veterinarian
Realtor
Housekeeper
Insurance Agent
Favorite restaurants
Favorite bookstore
Hobby store
Bonus Prompt: Who Do THEY Know
If you were able to complete these exercises with twenty people in each prompt, you now have a list of 140 people. And each of those 140 people have their own network too.
For the contacts that you have a deeper connection with, use the bonus worksheet I included to think about their lives a little bit.
Who do THEY know?
Maybe your friend Becky has that other friend, Rachel (you think), that always drinks too much at parties.
Or your friend Brendan’s dad just sold his mortgage company for enough money to buy a private jet. What was his name again…
Your possibilities are infinite when you start merging networks.
Are your wheels turning?
Keep going if you want.
Commit to adding 3-5 people to your contact list every single day.
When you’re ready for it, each person on your list is an opportunity to share your business.
And there’s nothing to be afraid of in sharing your notary business.
That’s one of the greatest gifts you have at your fingertips right now!
As a notary public, you fill a critical, and often required, role in commerce and identity theft prevention.
That’s not something to keep hidden. That’s something to be proud of.
Sing it from the rooftops.
Tell everyone you’re a notary.
Want some help with that? As part of my commitment to help you serve 1,000 more customers this year, I just released the TOMM app by Notary Coach completely free in ‘23.
I preloaded it with a “Tell Everyone” Pipeline, packed full of resources that help you start a conversation with people in your network, share your business in a unique and powerful way, and then stay in touch with them for years if you want to.
Comments