How would you work out the monetary value of your database?

You might think that ‘doing the math’ would answer it ((total contacts x average commission) = total value).

But that’s not the case at all.

Why? Because unless all your contacts are personally curated and all their data is complete, a good chunk of your data will be old, out of date, or irrelevant.

The Problem with Bad Data

A major 2015 survey of B2B businesses analyzed 223 million records. It found that only 50-65% of these records were complete. In addition, B2B data decays at a rate of 2.1% a month due to contacts moving, changing jobs or updating their contact details. This is an annualized rate of 22.5%. That means that each year you lose almost a quarter of your database contacts.

Bad data isn’t just useless. It can also be damaging to your reputation, and extremely costly. It’s estimated that data problems cost $3.1 trillion annually to the US economy alone — and since corporate data grows by about 40% a year, this problem is getting bigger and more unwieldy.

Suddenly the math starts to look a lot less watertight, doesn’t it?

The Value of Personalized Connections

Your database value stems not from how many names it contains, but from your relationship with the people behind the names.

In the case of email marketing, that means implementing best practices for data accuracy and ensuring that you’re actually sending the right emails to the right people (including opting out the wrong people).

And when it comes to your personal connections — the people you meet at networking events, your peers in the industry, your sphere of influence — it means taking time to get know the person, and let them know you. People are far more likely to remember you, refer you, and respond to you, if they know you as a person and not a brand. 

How to Curate your Contacts

1. Make notes of your contact’s personal and business life — and follow up.

• I once knew a company who, when their customers mentioned personal details like their children’s names or anniversaries, made a note in their file. Whenever that customer called in, the rep could pull up their information and ask about these details. This lead to an unparalleled level of personalized customer service.

2. Segment your sphere of influence, then pursue personal connections.

• You won’t have time to meet everyone in your database in person. But who are the top 20 professionals whose influence you value? Aim to ask them out for coffee or lunch twice a year. Read up on the personalized notes (above) and update them after coffee.

3. Actively help your connections.

• If you know of professionals who could benefit from each other’s services, make that connection. B2B buyers are 5x more likely to engage when introduced, and 84% of B2B decision makers start the buying process with a referral. Cultivating personal connections drives results, saves money, and leads to business growth for you and your network.

By following the practices above, your database will become more personalized, more effective and more valuable. When it comes to nurturing your database, you’ll reach that million dollar value through quality, not quantity.

Want more?

Our RESULTS Members gain 24/7 access to our Webinar, “Staying Connected” (available in video and audio-only content), plus our transcript, Summary and Member Workbook to help work through the learning. Join our waitlist so you’re the first to know when we re-open registration.