January 09, 2016

Our Top 16 Blog Posts of 2015

To look ahead to creating an epic 2016, we must look behind us and see what we did well in 2015. To end the first week of 2016, we're going to round up our most popular 16 blog posts of the past year. These were the posts that our readers consistently came back to throughout the year, the posts that were most shared on social media, and the posts that were well...epic.



What was the trend? Looks like everyone wanted hacks, tips, and tricks...and quickly too. Some of our most popular posts were the ones that promised results in at least 5 minutes. Another popular trend were subject lines and organizing your contacts

Read on for the best of the best...

And here they are, the countdown to our #1 blog post of 2015. Which was your favorite?

16. 10 Apps to Improve Your Business Relationships

We love a good app. Actually we love a lot of apps...but in-between games of Candy Crush and Snapchatting each other, we have found a few practical apps that can actually improve your business relationships and are approved for using in the office! Give Google Drive and Hipchat a quick download and let us know what you think!

15. Inside Contactually: Our Failed Experiment with Mixed Team Seating

We love sharing what works...and what doesn't work for us here at Contactually. Sometimes it feels like every day is a new experiment and when we learn a lesson, we want to share it out with all those other startups out there! Our CEO, Zvi, shared how we experimented with mixed team seating when we moved into our new office, and how it failed.

14. How to Respond to Customer Complaints

We've all been there, either on the receiving end of an angry customer, or we've been the angry customer on hold with bad muzak playing and getting angrier by the minute. No matter which end you're on, it's bound to be a frustrating experience, but we've got some top tips on how you can make it the best experience for customers coming to you with complaints. Most important takeaway? Be human.

13. 5 Five Minute Tips to Organize Contacts in Your Network

Consolidate, label, and take clear notes. It's as simple as that (well we've got some more in the post) but really, the days of having a confusing contact list is over. We shared a couple of our favorite hacks and tips to get you to create one clear and organized list of contacts for all the people in your life, no more wading through all 3 of your email address books and the rolodex on your desk...

12. [CHEAT SHEET] Formulas For Your Business Relationships

Did you know that there's some math involved in calculating the worth of your business relationships? Download our cheat sheet and start to better understand what it all adds up to! We included how to calculate the open rate of your emails and the right formula to use to figure out your contacts' response rate.

11. Ten Fool-Proof Ways to Segment your Contacts

You don't send the same email out to every one of your contacts right? One of the key points of increasing your open-rate of emails, is segmenting out your contacts so you're sending out relevant information to those lists. Start creating these segmented lists with a few quick facts about your contact, like your relationship with them and their job title, and go from there. You'll soon be sending far more targeted emails to your contacts!

10. [INFOGRAPHIC] Subject Lines That Will Get Your Emails Opened

Download the infographic and keep this one on your desktop for easy access. Our 7 rules will guide you through creating an effective subject line that guarantees a near 100% open rate for any email you send out, from a personal follow-up to an email marketing newsletter.

9. 20 Amazing Stats that Realtors Need for 2015

It's incredible how some basic statistics can influence and the decisions you make for your business. For three years now, we've researched and shared a lists of statistics that we thought realtors could find helpful as they enter a new year. While we've updated this list for 2016, many of the stats found in this post are still completely applicable today. The trends are by and large centered around the rise of technology and the need for realtors to get more involved with social media to meet the growing demands of the online real estate world.

8. 5 Five Minute Tips on How to Write Follow-Up Emails Effectively

We're with you on this, we struggle with writing follow-up emails. It's hard to hit the balance between 'politely persistent' and just plain ol' annoying but sending a follow-up is often key in closing a deal, or even hearing back from a contact. Two of our key tips to getting out that effective follow-up in five minutes is keeping it simple, and making a clear appointment.

7. 5 Five Minute Tips on Thanking Your Clients, Customers, and Contacts

When was the last time you thanked your clients or customers? It's a task that many of us avoid because it tends to be time consuming and tedious, but it's bound to be one of the most important things you can do for your business. But tackling it really doesn't have to take up your entire day and if you stay up to date with thanking your clients, you can knock it out in five minutes just once a week! From sending a couple hand-written notes, to indirectly reaching out to give them a reference or a letting their boss know how awesome they are, it's easier than you think to say your thank you's.

6. 10 Books to Better Develop Your Sales Relationships in 2015

We'll never say no to a good book, but even better is a good book that you can put to good use in your business relationships. Don't worry, not all nonfiction and personal development books need to be boring, and we picked some of the best of the best to keep you turning the pages and learning at the same time! From Pitch Perfect: How to Say it Right the First Time, Every Time by Bill McGowan to Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success by Shane Snow, all ten of our picks are still very relevant in 2016, and well worth the read.

5. 3 Quick Tips for a More Effective Email Signature

What's the last thing someone sees when they read your email? Why, your signature of course! So, before you include your headshot, three different fonts and your mailing address, take a step back. The point of your signature is to get your contacts to interact with you, so your best bet is to include the most pertinent information and skip all the extras that may confuse them or make it to difficult to find the easiest point of contact.

4. 4 Elements to Emails that Influence a Buyer's Decision (Dale Carnegie Style)

Dale Carnegie, the guy that wrote How to Win Friends and Influence People, knows what he's talking about when it comes to relationships and we couldn't help but let his book inspire a blog post. We put together 4 elements to include in a sales email to help influence a buyer's big decision. Two big takeaways? Do your research, and show some empathy. Remember, it's all about the people.

3. The Biggest List of 133 Relationship Management Tools

Who doesn't love a good list? We're certainly big fans and that's why we created our 'Biggest' list of some of the best relationship management tools out there. We broke it down for you into several categories, from Team Communication, to Project Marketing, and Email Marketing, you're bound to find a tool (or two) in there that'll help make things run a little more smoothly.

2. The 20 Subject Lines That Will Get Your Emails Opened

Having some issues getting your emails opened? We listed out some of the best (2o to be exact) subject lines that are almost a guarantee to getting your contacts to open your email. Nailing the subject line is a hurdle for almost anyone sending an email, even if you're a seasoned marketer, and understanding the psychology behind creating an effective subject line can be deceivingly difficult. Take a look, and test out the one word method or maybe add a question to your next subject line and see how it does!

1. 3 Facebook Contact Workaround to Give You Control of Your Network

Our big #1 post! This one was huge for us since Facebook and LinkedIn closed their API's, which left us in the dark when it came to integrating those contacts into the Contactually app. This post listed out our 3 hacks for accessing those Facebook contacts and getting them into the app, from integrating with Apple Contacts, to the 'Friend list print screen' to the friend birthday hack, these three tricks were clearly popular throughout the year with our readers and users.