Do As I Say, Not As I Do

If we’ve spoken lately, you’ll know I’m very much a “do as I say, not as I do” type of business strategist. It’s not that I don’t believe in what I teach, I absolutely do, but sometimes life and client work take center stage, and my own systems get a little neglected backstage.

Don’t get me wrong—I have some wonderful systems and operations in place. My business runs because of them. But, like many business owners, there are certain areas that I’ve let slide, and the one that keeps haunting me is my mailing list (and the CRM it should probably live in).

Now, if you could see the state of my contact list, you’d probably laugh and say “me too!” Or maybe you’d cry. Or maybe a bit of both.

Picture this: a handful of business cards scattered on my desk, a few more tucked in my planner, a random spreadsheet somewhere in Google Drive, a pile of forms saved from past events, names hiding in my booking system, and a whole collection of email threads I keep meaning to organize “someday.”

It’s not pretty. It secretly drives me nuts. But it’s a real problem, and one I know I’m not alone in. And that’s why today’s story is all about practicing what we preach (or at least, admitting when we’re not).

The Real Issue: Missed Connections

Here’s the thing. I have a pretty solid mailing list hiding in those piles of paper, forms, and folders. That list represents relationships, past clients, partners, collaborators, and connections that matter.

But because they aren’t in one place, I’m sitting on missed opportunities.

Opportunities to connect. Opportunities to share insights.

Opportunities to keep people in the loop about what’s new, what’s coming, and what’s working. So, this is me saying enough is enough.

I finally got brave enough to admit it in an Erapreneur Networking breakout room yesterday. Thanks to Deb, Leslie, Lia, and Ora, I now have accountability to make sure I complete this task in a month.

So, it’s time to clean house, gather my people, and finally pull everything into one solid system. And while I’m at it, I want to walk you through what that looks like, because maybe you’re sitting on your own “fistful of business cards” too.

Step One: Choosing the Right Tools

There are two key systems to think about here: 

1. A CRM (Client Relationship Manager): where your contact info lives and relationships are tracked.

2. An Email Marketing System: where you communicate, nurture, and sell.

Some programs do both. Some do one really well. Most have their quirks, features, and (of course) price tags that range.

For me, I’ve been working between Mailchimp and Wix for the last year. Mailchimp is in my comfort zone; it’s user-friendly, and I know my way around it. Wix comes as part of my paid website plan, so technically, I’m already paying for it. The problem? My team uses it more than I do, and I’m not taking full advantage of it.

So before I go running off to buy another shiny platform, I’m taking my own advice: look at what you already have. Look at what you will actually use.

Then comes the comparison shopping. I’ll be looking at MailerLite, Wix, Mailchimp, and maybe one big all-in-one like HubSpot. I’ve used HubSpot before; it’s powerful, but it doesn’t feel intuitive to me. And if there’s one thing I always tell my clients, it’s this:

Your system has to be user-friendly to YOU. You’re the one who needs to be able to log in and make changes, not just your team.

So, I’ll be diving into cost comparisons, checking how many contacts I have, and seeing what automations I need. Because trust me, the number of contacts can make your plan price jump quickly.

Step Two: Gathering the Chaos

Once I’ve chosen my tool, it’s time to pull everything together.

This is the time-consuming part, the one that makes me sigh and reach for another coffee. Shhhhh… Don’t tell anyone, but this is why I’ve avoided this task for so long.

Here’s what this process will look like for me:

• Go through emails from the last 90 days to one year and collect relevant contacts.

• Export names from my booking system and classify them as client, lead, or Zoffee date.

• Pull info from forms, cards, and event lists.

• Add everything into one master Google Sheet to be imported.

At this point, I might also call in backup from my team. “Hey, can you pull this data for me?” might just be my new favourite sentence—even if I still have to add personal notes after.

Step Three: Organize and Tag

Now, once it’s all in one place, the fun begins.

Where did these people come from? How do I want to classify them? What information will I want to make sure I note about them—like where we met, their business relationship status, or even fun personal details like “also has a cat named Gidget” or “birthday same as Blake’s (uh oh! IYKYK), or “drove to her car together after just meeting because it was a dark and stormy night” (true story).

CRMs and email systems often let you create tags or segments, which help you send the right messages to the right people.

Here are a few of the ways I plan to organize mine:

• Current Clients – for updates, promos, or office hour changes.

• Past Clients – for re-engagement offers or new service launches.

• Leads – people who’ve shown interest but haven’t booked yet.

• Webinar Attendees – so I can invite them to future sessions.

• Referrals – because I want to nurture those connections too.

By tagging everyone properly, I’ll be able to track where they came from, how they interact with my emails, and what they’re most interested in. It’s not just organization, it’s strategy.

Step Four: Make Sure I Have Permission

Before I start firing off emails, there’s an important step that often gets overlooked: making sure I actually have permission to email these people.

A lot of the contacts on my list have already given me permission in one form or another, but there’s a big difference between sending someone a quick “Hey, just checking in” and sending them a marketing email about a new program or offer.

So, part of my next step is reaching out to anyone I’m not 100% sure about. It’s a simple message to reconnect and confirm if they’d like to stay in the loop. Will that mean some people get tagged as “Do Not Send Marketing Emails To”? Absolutely. And that’s okay.

I’m not in the business of spamming people. My goal is to share things of value—like this blog, new tools I’ve discovered, AI updates I’m learning, or even quick tips that can help other business owners make smarter decisions. Sometimes it might just be a friendly “Hey, this might interest you,” or an update like, “Here’s what’s new with my upcoming Clarity to Scale program.”

It might feel uncomfortable to send those first few permission-check emails, but transparency builds trust. I’d rather know that everyone on my list wants to hear from me than risk overwhelming inboxes, damaging relationships, or gasp being marked as spam!

Step Five: Take My Own Advice

At the end of the day, this process is all about walking my talk.

I help clients clean up their systems, streamline their operations, and get organized, but sometimes, I need to pause and take my own medicine.

Building or rebuilding a mailing list isn’t glamorous. It’s not the part you’ll see on Instagram. But it’s foundational to building a sustainable business that connects, converts, and grows.

So yes, I’m still a “do as I say, not as I do” strategist, but I’m working on being more of a “do as I say and as I do” kind of woman.

One list, one tag, one upload at a time.

Your Turn

If you’ve been avoiding your own mailing list or CRM cleanup (don’t worry, I see you), take this as your sign. Open a spreadsheet. Start collecting names.

And if you’re feeling overwhelmed or not sure where to begin, book a Brain Dump Session with me. We’ll talk it through, figure out your best system, and get those ideas out of your head and into something that works for you.

Because sometimes, the best way to “do as I say” is to have someone remind you where to start.