The Why, Where and How of using your CRM starting TODAY!

By Stephanie York, Executive Coach

The number one complaint I receive from clients is about having a CRM and not using it enough or at all. Is it the CRM's fault? Does the CRM trick you every day and show up late for work? Does it hide when you come into the office? No, I didn't think so. Robust, useful, necessary those are what a CRM is, great at hiding, not so much. Getting a new program can be very tricky for a business owner. You saw your business one way and now the new program is changing everything and you are going to have to change with it.

People have so many different reasons to not get the CRM up and working for them. Not enough time, too complicated, I am not good with computers, I have to "put out fires". When I meet with my clients they are very honest with their reasons. These reasons have taken on a life of their own and become the hurdle to using this amazing new tool. The intent is there to use this product, they paid for it and know it will help but intentions cannot make you successful. Action, or as Tony Robbins calls it "Massive Action" does.

Let's get to the top three reasons people do not use their CRMs. I believe you will find that no matter what your reasons are they will fit into one of the three categories, "why" you run your business, "where" you run your business and "how" you run it.

1.    Problem: You don't know Why - This is a big one, many books are written on it and I have really long conversations about my client's why. For our purposes we cannot search the soul and find you meaning to life in this short forum. However, we can start scratching at the surface of why you bought a CRM and how that HAS to affect your daily success. Did someone tell you that a CRM was necessary to be successful? Did you buy one because it looked good? Do you know why you are using it?

Solution: Stop looking at the CRM as someone else's solution. It is yours, you own it and you have to use it. Yes it can be the best tool you ever bought but not if you don't start and keep going.
Set aside a regular time each and every day to work on the database. This is best if you block out the first half hour or hour of everyday to work on one thing, one tiny aspect. Here is a list of potential items to focus on. Pick one, get started, learn it and keep going.

a.    Tasks - go through your contacts and make sure you have tasks set up for each and every one of your leads, loans, referral partners and contacts. If they do not need to be contacted do not create a task for them.

b.    Set up groups, make sure you have everyone in every group you want them to be in for marketing purposes.

c.    Learn how to send an e-mail.

d.    Learn how to set up an e-mail template, create one for quick e-mails to the database.

e.    Turn on a marketing campaign. Mortgage Planner CRM has some amazing ones ready to be turned on, they work for you. Learn about them and get started right away.

2.    Problem: You don't know Where - This sounds a little goofy but the fact is many of the clients I start with have a lot of contacts in the CRM and they have some leads lying around on the desk but they really don't know where the business is.

Solution: Start getting organized about how you run your business. Find out where your leads, loans and everyone else is inside the CRM and get them set up on a regular contact system.

1.    Get a loan process in place, there is one in the CRM. Find out what the steps are and get it set up for your business.

2.    Run a pipeline report and know exactly how much business you have in the CRM right now and at any given point.

3.    Get all of your prospects into the CRM. If you have to create an intake form with the required information lines on it and then have a place you put leads then get it done. Then during your blocked out time each morning you can enter them into the database.

4.    Always be aware of how many leads you have and how many loans are in the pipeline for the next two months. This is your money and you have to track it.

5.    Find your referral partners in the CRM and schedule regular contact with them. This means a call or an appt. with them must be in your tasks and your calendar. They have your business. Set them up on a marketing campaign. Know where your business is!

3.    Problem: You don't know How. Yep, the big one. Of course you don't know how, it's why you are reading this article, you want to know how to fix this problem. The much bigger issue is you will not be able to make any positive changes to your use of a CRM until you really change the how.
 
Solution: If this is your first attempt at databasing, or for some "real" attempt, then you are going to have to change the how in your brain. I don't like to use big psychology words often but for this it has to be done. In the book, "7 Habits of Highly Successful People",  Steven Covey talks about paradigms and shifting them. Page 23 states "a paradigm is a model, theory, perception, assumption or frame of reference. In the more general sense it is the way we "see" the world." Today too many of us see the world framed in e-mails, voice mails and meetings ( even facebook and twitter). These are forms of communication not systems to run a business. In order to really use a successful business system you must shift your paradigm/view to see through the CRM/program using it to run the business and turning to the e-mails and voicemails to do just communicating. Outlook does not manage a database, it delivers and sends e-mails.

a.    First thing, every day, you turn on the CRM. It should be the first thing on, last thing off and reviewed and used all day long, not e-mails, not the voicemails. You turn on the CRM and start your day focused on what your virtual assistant has for you today. You control the day, you stay focused and then you can start communicating. Change your view.

b.    First thing everyday review your tasks, figure out when is the best time to do those and block out an event in the calendar to make the phone calls you must make. Plan your day for the tasks and appts.

c.    Create a checklist for yourself at the end of each day. Number 1 on the checklist should be "Turn on CRM and check for tasks.". Have this available every morning on your keyboard when you walk in. Changing habits can be difficult but it can be done with a plan.

d.    Put the sticky part of a post it note in the corner of your computer screen that says CRM on it, cut off the lower half. This will help to remind you to always have the CRM on and always go back to it.

One last small problem I am not going to address to the fullest extent. If you are still saying you are no good on the computer or you stink at technology or any of the other myriad of excuse phrases then go take a class at the local college, go online and learn. The world will not care if you could not learn the computer, your competition took the 10 minutes a day it takes to learn what they need, it is your turn. Reach out, there are a lot of resources to learn from and no one likes excuses. Saying you cannot use technology only reinforces that thought.

Your CRM is the best employee you will ever have, it is a virtual assistant that can get you
started first thing every day, laser focused on all of your high priority activities that will bring you wealth and success or you could not even turn it on. The ball is in your court.


Stephanie York, Executive Coach, DES Coaching
coaching@descoaching.com, (805)701-8508

TIP #1: Automating Your Follow-up Tasks


The most common mistake that sales professionals make regarding a follow-up strategy is believing that it is not necessary because they gave great service and that has earned them the repeat business and referrals for years to come. The second most common mistake is thinking that they will remember to "check in" at regular intervals instead of setting that new client on a well-thought-out, systematic, automated workflow / follow-up campaign. The third most common mistake is giving higher priority to the transaction-related tasks over the follow-up tasks. They are of equal importance and need to be treated as such if the salesperson stands any chance of building a long-term, steady stream of repeat and referral business. Not respecting this fact, leads to a never-ending cycle of prospecting for new business.

The root of the problem lies in the personality type that is attracted to the sales profession. Pursuing the lead, qualifying the prospect and closing the transaction are all aspects of the sales cycle that appeal to the "hunter" mentality. There is a defined objective and a pay off.

Follow-up requires a different mindset that appeals to the "farmer" mentality. The farmer un- derstands that planting the seeds now and remaining diligent with regards to their care is what will produce the future harvest of sales abundance. Since most sales people are natural hunters, they will not naturally do the follow-up work that is necessary to develop repeat
business, and most importantly, the ongoing stream of referrals from past clients and partners.

The good news is that with advances in contact management technology and some good marketing materials, the entire process of follow-up can be set on autopilot. Imagine that with a click of a button, all of your new clients last month were set up to receive ongoing informative emails, birthday and holiday cards were sent, and you would receive reminders to make regular phone calls for that added personal touch. Not only will this continue to plant you firmly in the minds of your clients as a true professional, but it will secure that much-desired mental real estate that positions you for referrals when your client's friends and family mention the topic of buying or refinancing a home.

You may be asking yourself, when do I begin the follow-up and how long do I continue the process.??
The answer may surprise you.
You begin following up, the moment you receive a new lead or referral and you never stop. You follow-up until a lead becomes a qualified prospect. You follow-up with a qualified prospect until the transaction closes or doesn't close. You follow-up with new clients after the closing and you revisit timing with the prospects that failed to close until one of you leaves this world. There is one exception - The contact asks you to stop or opts out of your email list. Otherwise, you never stop.

If you don't believe it, invite the number one producer in your company out to lunch. During that hour of one-on-one time, ask the following questions:
1. What percentage of your business comes from past clients and referrals?
2. Do you prefer new leads from advertising or referrals? Why?
3. What is the longest period of time you pursued a client from lead to initial close?

The results vary from industry to industry, but top producers in the service industries typically experience a higher percentage of repeat and referral business, a preference for referrals over any other type of lead, and a surprisingly long client-pursuit matrix. I know top producers that can track new business back over 3-5 years of follow-up marketing. It may sound like too much work for the "hunter," but with a CRM that has automated workflow capability, you may only need to invest as little as 12 minutes in phone calls and voice messages over a 3-year period. The CRM software does the heavy lifting and most sales people would prepare to remain on the phone or meet face-to-face to maximize their total income potential.
If the fortune is in the follow-up, then automating the follow-up may hold the key in never letting an opportunity slip through the cracks. Some of the best CRM application providers target niche markets, offering outstanding marketing materials as well as industry-specific sales and process workflows that can transform a self-employed agent into a small business with the volume to match. This will save a tremendous amount of time and money, for a sales professional that doesn't have the resources or the desire to customize a generic platform to meet his or her specific needs.




Stay Tuned for Tip #2: How to Create a Value-added Keep-in-Touch Plan

One of the earliest lessons that I learned running my company is that I would fail more times than I would succeed. It's a sometimes painful, but necessary part of the road to success. Entrepreneurs tell legendary stories about the challenges and set backs that paved the way to their ultimate achievements and epiphanies. My business coach would teach me that I needed to embrace my struggles, because it usually meant that I was on the verge of a breakthrough. Its also at this critical point that many business owners give up.

According to the small business administration, 95% of new businesses fail within the first 5 years and half of them will fail in the first year. That's an astounding figure, but it gives us a clear indication that failure should be expected and worked into every business's strategy if we are going to turn the corner toward success.

Once my team began to understand that failure would be an integral part of our business experience, we began to grow more comfortable. We even decided to identify resources to deal with failure and turn it to our advantage. The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard was critical in cultivating this process in the team enviornment. Now, there is one caveat to the formula - Learn from your failures and do not repeat the same mistakes. Doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome is the well-known definition of insanity.

We embraced a new mantra, "Execute. Fail. Adjust." We soon discovered that we were not really committed to a philosophy of continued failure, but rather on one that would propel us into action. Once we were in motion, we would stay vigilant in identifying mistakes, logging set backs and communicating our challenges. Constant course corrections were made, until we found way to smoother processes. We also found that by executing and being " in action," we were making a considerable amount of forward momentum and progress.

This was a welcome change from my medical technology training of analyze, react, analyze some more, execute, analyze again. What works well in the lab or in any bureaucracy, may not stoke the fires required to create something out of thin air. Entrepreneurs have an amazing capacity to believe in themselves and see the destination even if the road may not be completely clear when they take the first step

If you doubt that this has been a formula for success that you have ever been apart of or witnessed in a viable business model, ask yourself how many MS Windows and MS Office updates and upgrades you have installed on your computer. I helped build 2 enterprise software companies from 1996 to 2001 and one of them, B2B solution for the hotel & gaming industry experienced the 5th largest gain per share of all the IPOs in 1999. Neither of those products were complete or fully-functional when we released the alpha or beta versions. In fact, our first clients played an integral role in determining which features would be added and removed from the final product. What made those companies successful was the team's ability to execute, fail and adjust. Most of our greatest achievements and upgrades came out of a massive failure in an a functional client's production or operations facility, not on the development platform back at headquarters.

When you hear the word Sales or Salesman, what images pop into your head - Joe Isuzu, The ShamWow Guy, or the Guy with the loud voice and dark beard on the TV infomercials that screams us into submission until we go out and pick up a container of OxiClean or Kaboom? Or do you picture Harland Sanders smiling as you eat his delicious Kentucky Fried Chicken?

 

Jeffrey Gitomer, the author of "The Little Red Book of Sales" declares, "Nobody likes to be sold, but everyone loves to buy!". Therein lies the conundrum presented to the professional whose compensation is directly related to the amount of goods or services that he or she can influence consumers to purchase or "love to buy", generating revenue for their employer. How do you sell without making someone feel like they are being sold?

 

My Father, Mike Sr., enjoyed a successful career in land sales and always referred to people at the top of his profession as "closers." These were an extremely rare breed of sales professionals that obtained the coveted signature on a purchase contract even under the most unlikely of circumstances. It was considered the ultimate compliment among your peers when someone said, "YOU are a closer." Being raised around that culture and always hearing my father's stories growing up, makes me feel bad that the term "Sales" or "Salesperson" gets a bad rap in our culture. Companies have even invented some creative terms to disassociate their representatives from the title, salesperson.

 

Here are some of the more creative titles that I have come across to sidestep the whole sales stigma:

Account Executive

Customer Service Representative

Account Manager

Customer Support

Product Specialist

Consultant

Independent Agent

Regional Manager

Vice President (My Favorite in Banking)

 

I personally like my title, Chief Executive Salesman. I started using it shortly after I met Jeffrey Gitomer at an event for Success Magazine. I hadn't purchased any of Jeffrey's books yet, but I was impressed with the articles he had written for Success. That day, there were over 2000 people attending the symposium. Many of us waited in line for 2 hours to be the first ones in the door. The line was backed up ½ mile, but you may not believe me when I write that Jeffrey came outside of the auditorium and walked the entire length of the line to greet & shake hands with everyone in the crowd. You couldn't miss him, because he wears a bright red shirt with a "salesman" label right on it.

 

Eight speakers on the schedule that Saturday and I can't remember a single word that any of them said. But, I will remember Jeffrey Gitomer's big smile and handshake the rest of my life. I had the opportunity to speak with Jeffery, later that day and was amazed at how interested he was in me and my business. Now I own most of his books, subscribe to his newsletter and make a point to attend events that feature him as a keynote speaker. Sales is about building connections and cultivating relationships. It's about giving value first & developing trust. People may come to you because you have a great product or service, but they buy from you, and more importantly, stay with you because of the way that you make them feel as a person.

 

Are salespeople an endangered species?

I don't believe so. But if we are going to survive and thrive, we must be willing to evolve with the times. People love to buy and they will always prefer to purchase from people they like. Focus on developing your relationship skills, having a heart for your customers, and perfecting your active listening technique. I use a technique during my sales calls where I imagine there is a huge spotlight in the room and that the person talking always has the light shining down on them. It is my job to keep that spotlight focused on my customer and not focused on me. I have learned that I can accomplish more in one hour asking questions and listening, than in a whole day of talking about my products to a captive audience. So the next time you find yourself on a sales call, pay close attention to where the spotlight is pointed.

 

Your Grandmother did it and so did her mother before her. Jack Welch sent them to subordinates when they achieved major milestones. Tom Hopkins & Brian Buffini built multi-million dollar real estate businesses with them. Harvey MacKay celebrated author of "Swim with the Sharks without Being Eaten Alive" writes:

"Short handwritten notes yield long results. In sales, never underestimate the personal gesture, and right at the top of the list of effective personal gestures sits handwritten notes. Always send memorable cards and personal notes when you are reminded of a person."

You may be thinking to yourself, "That sounds nice, but I'm busy. I send and receive 100s of emails each day. This is the information age!!! I use text messaging. I'm using new products built on 3G & CLOUD computing infrastructure managing my enterprise across a virtual & mobile workforce. I'm expanding my web exposure using search engine optimization and just recently setup multiple accounts to leverage the latest innovative social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. And you want me think about handwritten notes???"

ABSOLUTELY.

I'm an evangelist for new technology especially when it saves time and makes me money. But there are things that technology cannot replace such as personal gestures backed by professionalism and courtesy. Most businesses begin based on a great idea. Businesses that thrive are usually based on great relationships.



So what's so special about a card written in someone's own handwriting? First, a person's handwriting is almost as unique as his DNA. Second, it takes more effort to write a note than send an email or leave a vmail. Third, your clients receive 100s of emails everyday. Only about 3% of the postal mail is personal. If you doubt that, ask yourself how close to a trash can you stand when you open your correspondence??? Fourth, cards & stamps cost money. That, with your time and thoughtful message, carry an innate VALUE that is lost with instant technology. Fifth, never underestimate the power of an oldie-but-goodie. They say the classics never go out of style. The handwritten note/card is a classic that has been around for thousands of years. How many businesses can say that?

Did you know that the 80% of sales made in the modern pipeline occur after the 5th contact is made?
Did you know that most sales professionals give up after 3 attempts?

In the last MOJO we examined Commitment Objectives and how to use them to break the down the sales cycle into specific, achievable goals. This MOJO is all about the actions taken between each commitment objective and how to best advance your prospect to the next objective, improving your odds and positioning yourself for maximum production potential.

Let's use a simple set of commitment objectives such as: 1.Qualification; 2.Demonstration/Presentation; 3. Proposal and 4. Close

Any seasoned sales professional can tell you that it is unlikely that you will advance from the "Qualification" to the "Close" on the first discussion, especially with products & services that require a significant investment. Ultimately, the top producers in any field will focus their energy on strengthening the relationship, establishing value and advancing the prospect through each commitment objective. There are inevitably shortcuts that may be taken, but those generally lead to compromising the integrity of the relationship. Once the "Qualification" has been met in our example above, we advance to the "Demonstration", next to the "Proposal", and finally the "Close." Each one of these commitment objectives may require a separate discussion and an arranged meeting time & place.

So, how do you keep the momentum in your favor? I use a combination of three basic forms of communication that always give me the best results between commitment objectives:
•    Email
•    Hand written note/card
•    Phone call

Now you may be telling yourself, that's too simple or too obvious. I agree. So, why is that 80% of the sales professionals don't do it?
Let's take our workflow from the last MOJO newsletter and this time add our interstitial contact points to demonstrate what the new process looks like:

1.    Qualification
•    Email (thanking them for first meeting, restating value proposition and confirming demo)
•    Hand written note/card (thanking them for their time)
•    Phone call (confirming next appointment 24 hours in advance)
•    2nd Email confirmation (confirming next appointment 24 hours in advance)

2.    Demonstration
•    Email (thanking them for second meeting, restating hot buttons from demo, confirming that a proposal is on its way)
•    2nd Email with proposal
•    Phone call (confirming receipt of proposal & to set time to review)
•    Email to confirm proposal
•    Phone call to confirm appt. 24 hours in advance

3.    Proposal
•    Email (thanking them for second meeting, restating hot buttons from demo, confirming that a proposal is on its way)
•    2nd Email with proposal
•    Phone call (confirming receipt of proposal & to set time to review)
•    Email invite to confirm proposal
•    Phone call to confirm appt. 24 hours in advance

4.    Trial
•    Email (thanking them for third meeting, restating hot buttons from proposal, and next steps to setup trial)
•    Phone call to set up trial and schedule coaching call
•    Email invite to coaching appointment
•    Phone call to confirm appt. 24 hours in advance from their coach
•    Thank you card from their coach (restating value and features they enjoyed the most)

5.    Close
•    Email from sales associate regarding coaching experience
•    Phone call to review and make decision
•    Decision
•    Send welcome email
•    Send thank you for your business card and gift (only if appropriate for your industry)
•    Phone call thanking them again and reinforcing their decision making points
               1.    This one phone call will separate you from 95% of your colleagues and competitors
               2.    Ask for referrals

6.    Drip marketing
•    Email 1-2 per month
               1.    Give value
               2.    Educate & inform
               3.    Ask for feedback
•    Handwritten note/card once per quarter (birthday, seasons greeting, client business anniversary.)
               1.    Make the note all about the client
               2.    Do not solicit
               3.    Send thank you cards every time you receive a referral
•    KIT (keep -in-touch) phone calls 2-3 per year
               1.    Give value
               2.    Cross-sell other products and services
               3.    Ask for referrals (it doesn't count if you don't get a name, number and permission.)

Still simple? Yes. But most importantly, Can the process be taught to other team members? Yes. Can the process be automated? Yes. One test of a great contact management system or CRM should be whether it has the flexibility and scalability to grow with you. Stay tuned next week for more MOJO when we begin to explore "The Lost Art of the Handwritten Note."

Milestone Objective is a term commonly used in the technology industry. I picked it up working with project managers and developers during the early years of my career in the B2B enterprise software space. I found that it was also an innovative way to break down the sales cycle into specific achievable goals allowing each salesperson on my team to focus on advancing their prospect through the cycle but with smaller, definable steps. To make it more sales specific, we altered the term to "Commitment Objective" because without the prospect's commitment, the sales cycle does not advance and the sales process stalls.

Here's an example of a simple set of commitment objectives for my software sales team:

   1. Qualification
   2. Demonstration
   3. Proposal
   4. Trial
   5. Close
   6. Drip marketing
   7. KIT (keep in touch)

Each sales team member is charged with simply meeting the current objective and then advancing the prospect to the next objective in the process. Now, there are many interstitial steps between each Commitment Objective to consider and I will be covering that in more detail in next week's Mojo eZine. But for now, let's explore breaking down your sales cycle and identifying YOUR unique commitment objectives.

One of the best and most complex sales processes that I have ever seen was created by a loan officer named Tim Braheem, who later became the founder of the LoanToolbox. Tim created "The Perfect Loan Process" detailing a series of 71 steps from initial contact to qualification to loan application to processing to underwriting to loan closing and on to client retention. Tim's approach was brilliant and is still utilized by some of my top clients who have modified it further for their specific production styles and team sizes.

It doesn't matter if you have 7 or 71 steps in your sales process. What does matter is that YOU are able to clearly articulate which steps in your process require a commitment from your client to achieve THEM. Once you have identified your own "Commitment Objectives" you can put them in a process order, assign completion timelines, create interstitial steps, and even begin to identify which members of your team will be responsible for each step's completion.

With CRM, you have the capability to advance your sales process to another level. Take that list of steps on your excel spreadsheet or word document and integrate them into a software program that allows you and all of your team members to see the up-to-date status of each contact. Imagine having the ability bring up any contact in your database and see a complete history of every email, task and appointment. Imagine the freedom of knowing that each person in your database has been taken care of and that the next action item is already scheduled and will appear on your computer screen for when it is in need of your attention.

Want to truly want to get an idea of the health of your current database system, give it a quick check up.

   1. Choose a random selection of any 20-30 past clients
   2. See the last action item that you have listed in the history log
   3. When was the last email or phone(automated newsletters don't count) contact that you had with them?
         1. 90 days is optimal
         2. More than a year, they have already forgotten your name.
   4. What contact step do you have scheduled for them next?

A healthy contact management system should always contain a detailed history of everything that you have done for each of your contacts and a "next" action item or task that you have scheduled for yourself in the future.

Stay tuned next week for more Marketing Mojo when we begin to explore "Interstitial contact between Milestone Objectives."

1. Send at least one "Unexpected Card" to a friend, client or partner every day.
2. Collect 10 new business cards or contact information from new prospects each day.
3. On the same day, send a follow up (Nice to Meet You) card to your every new prospect.
4. Send Birthday Cards to everyone you know. Call them on their birthday & do not mention business.
5. Enter & Synchronize all new contact information for your prospects into each of your customer relationship management CRM systems (MS Outlook, ACT, Salesforce, Franklin Flanner, Day Runner, IPhone, Blackberry, Palm Pilot, etc.)
6. Make a follow up call to every person to whom you send a card 4-5 days after you send it - set this as a reminder in your planner or CRM.
7. At each meeting, spend the first 10 minutes talking about them - it's their favorite subject. Family, Occupation, Recreation & then your Message F.O.R.M.
8. When meeting with clients and partners, ask for referrals. Describe the type of referral that you are seeking today, focusing on the benefit or value that you can offer the referee. Ask them if they have anyone in mind that you may be able to help.
9. With sphere of influence partners, adopt Dr. Ivan Misner's "Givers Gain" approach by consistently working to provide them high-quality referrals.
10. Never give up on calling the prospect until you reach them or until they ask you to stop calling. Only leave one voicemail per week, no matter how many calls you make. The average consumer does not respond until after the 6th phone call. The average salesperson gives up after 3 calls.

Attended a Chamber of Commerce mixer, business breakfast or lunch meeting recently?Regularly? Consistently? If you are an avid net "work"er, you have.
How do you get the most from a Networking event? But, have you ever felt like you were settling into a rut with your existing fellow networking contacts? Do you ever feel that you are getting too familiar or social with your business networking partners? I may have few tips to maximize your time and investment.

When visiting a new networking group for the 1st time:

1. Bring plenty of business cards and a pen.
2. You will inevitably be introduced to the President or Director of the group. She/He knows everybody!!! Drop & swap a business card.
3. After you sufficiently spend some time asking them about their family, professional, and personal interests, I recommend that you have a SHORT commercial with memory hook (about your business) ready so that you can clearly communicate your profession and target market.
4. Write a few notes on the back of their business card summarizing their interests. This can be elaborated on later when you return to your office and enter their contact information into your customer relationship management (CRM) system. The better your notes, the better your chances of becoming a great referral source for them and the more fertile the soil for cultivating a healthy business relationship that may last for years to come.
5. Then, after the rapport is established, ask the Director who the most important person for you meet at this meeting.
6. Repeat Steps 1 - 4 with the person you are introduced to and move onto the next introduction.
7. Set a goal to drop & swap at least 5 cards before and after the meeting. After 5-6 weeks, you will have met everyone.

Remember that one of the keys to growing your business is to consistently attend meetings and contribute to the group.