Effortless Task Management

I’m addicted to making to-do lists, so it’s not surprising that the Task tool is my favorite ContactMe feature. The tool is simple yet robust, and will prevent you from falling behind or missing deadlines. Each time you use it, you’ll  feel assured that you are taking care of business quickly and accurately.

Add Tasks When You Are Feeling Overwhelmed. If your head is jam-packed with things you need to remember to do, head straight for the “Tasks” tab in the orange menu bar at the top of the ContactMe homepage. Simply type the first to-do item you think of into the “Add a Task” bar. For example: “Buy extra make-up foundation and concealer for the pre-photo shoot session.” As you type, you’ll see options appear below. Set the due date (“Tomorrow”), choose a priority color/level (red for “Critical”) and then type in the name of the contact involved in this task (“Mick Jagger”).

Click “Add Now” and three wonderful, helpful things will happen: 1) the task will appear in a to-do list on the Tasks page; 2) the task will be highlighted at the top of Mick Jagger’s contact detail page in a section called “Tasks”; and 3) the task will appear on the Calendar page.

And, when you finish the task, you can check it off the to-do list by clicking the box to the left of it.

Add Tasks After Interacting With a Customer. In an earlier blog post, I talked about the Notes feature, and how it lets you log interactions with customers. ContactMe makes it easy add a task after typing up a note.

Simply stay on the page where you’ve been taking notes, perhaps while during your follow-up phone call with Mick’s manager (Mick loved your work and thought he looked great). You’ve been typing notes into the big box in the middle of the page; you’ll see that there are four symbols on the box’s left side. Click on the thumbtack and the box will switch from “Add Note” to “Add Task.”  Go ahead and add type “Mail Mick samples of the makeup you used, along with a thank-you note and your business card,” or whatever your task may be, and then add the due date (you can even pick a specific date if you want) and priority level. It’s that simple!

Improve Customer Relationships. When you know what you have to do, it’s easy to take care of business. Your customers will be impressed by how conscientious you are about meeting all of your deadlines, delivering on all of your promises, and being thoughtful about small details…like playing Paint it Black during Jagger’s time in your makeup chair.

For more advice on managing your to-do list with ContactMe, check out our full instructions on Adding and Managing Tasks.