Keeping Track of Who You Know

In this life you can and will get people's business cards. This is a good thing. In fact, you should make a point of asking people that you meet and have a conversation with for their business card. Why? It's that whole networking thing that all the acting career books keep harping about.

But almost more important than getting the business card is storing the information in a secure and easy to access location. I myself use Microsoft Outlook, but you might use your PDA, an address book, a Rolodex, or even just a box full of business cards. Regardless, you should follow a procedure that looks something like the following every time you meet a person and get their contact info:

1. Create an entry for the contact.
   
2. Input their name, phone number, email, fax, website, job description, etc into the appropriate fields.
   
3. Write down some notes about the person:
   
   1. Where and when you met (be as specific as possible).
      
   2. Write down who introduced you if you remember.
      
   3. Include a brief description of the person, what they look like, defining personality traits.
      
   4. Write down any trivia you remember about this person, pets, children, spouse, favorite food, etc.
      
4. Categorize the contact. If you're using outlook you can assign multiple categories. People that I meet through the Groundlings get put in the following categories "Class, Actor, LA, Improv, Fan List".
   
5. Search for and attach photo. Most people have photos online, a quick search for "John Doe" will turn up a copy of his headshot. Paste this into your contact.
   
6. Send the person an email saying that it was nice to meet them at such-and-such and include your contact information at the bottom of the message.