Email: Find and import email data into your CRM

Complete this task

Once you’ve set up a CRM, you should add any existing data (email addresses) into it. Later you will set up a system to add new data every week.

Lots of MSPs say they don’t have any data. But there’s always data if you go looking for it.

You should sweep through your business looking for every email address of everyone you ever spoke to, met, or received a business card from. This is the “hidden data” that’s in the business, but has never been organised:

Look for every business card you’ve ever received
Search your email for every lead you’ve ever spoken to. Every single one
Look for any other data anywhere else: Submitted web forms, phone messages, anything

Compile it into an Excel. Import it into your CRM. You will find how to do that in your CRM’s support.

Then you can start sending regular emails to this database.

A note on marketing consent: We prefer the principle of "it's better to seek forgiveness than it is to ask permission" (not legal advice 😃). Just add these people to your list and don't overthink it.

We're talking tiny numbers of people here, all of whom you have had some kind of previous interaction with. You'll get a few angry replies along the way, but forget them. The world’s anti-spam laws are aimed at people who spam millions every day, not a hard working small business owner like you.

What if I get unsubscriptions or spam complaints?

You will, certainly the first time you email this database, and then every now and again. This is a small and unavoidable price of regularly emailing a database. But please please please do not overthink this, and do not use this as a reason not to build your database or send weekly emails. You are not an evil mass spammer. You are a hard-working business owner who is just trying to educate their audience about the pros and cons of technology. Email is great way to do this. And ultimately if someone doesn't want to get your emails, they will just unsubscribe.

How do I build my email list going forward?

There’s a system for this in build audiences. And a ton of other ideas here.