How to Remember the Details Clients and Colleagues Tell You
A client's preferences, a colleague's kid's name, the deadline someone mentioned in passing. A simple way to keep the details that build trust, without a CRM.
By YAFOYWork and personal3 min read
Three months ago, a client mentioned in passing that she was training for her first half marathon. Last month, a supplier told you his warehouse closes early on Fridays. Your new colleague said her daughter just started kindergarten.
Today you're on a call with the client. Asking "How did the half marathon go?" would make her day. If only you remembered.
The people who seem to remember everything aren't born with better memories. They write things down, in a way they can find again.
The details that matter most
- Preferences: "Prefers calls to email." "Never schedule before 10." "Vegetarian."
- Personal milestones: a new baby, a move, a race, a big birthday.
- Working rules: "Invoices go to accounts@, not to Jo." "Warehouse closes at 2 on Fridays."
- Promises and dates: "We'll revisit pricing in Q3." "Contract renews in March."
None of these need a big system. They need to be captured at the moment you hear them.
How to keep them
1. Capture right after the conversation. Thirty seconds after a call or a message, while it's fresh. A typed line or a short voice note is enough.
2. Lead with the person's name. "Maria (Northwind): training for her first half marathon in May." Names make details findable.
3. Save the message itself when you can. If the detail came in a message, save the message rather than retyping it. The original has the context and the date.
4. Look before you talk. Before a call or meeting, take one minute to look up what you know about the person.
When a CRM is too much
Sales teams use CRM software for this, and for large teams it's the right tool. But for freelancers, small business owners, managers and anyone with a dozen important relationships, a CRM is often more work than the relationships themselves.
YAFOY offers a lighter way. With Add, you save a message from almost any app (tap Share, then YAFOY), a screenshot, or a quick voice note after a call: "Maria from Northwind: half marathon in May, prefers calls in the afternoon." YAFOY picks out the people, topics and any dates or follow-ups.
Before your next call, ask Memory: What do I know about Maria? or When does the Northwind contract renew? Memory searches what you've added and answers with links to the original notes and messages. See how Add and Memory work →
A note on respect: keep notes to what helps you work well with someone, and leave out sensitive personal information. What you add is stored in your YAFOY account and analyzed by an AI model.
The call, revisited
Five minutes before the call, you ask Memory about Maria. One line comes back: half marathon in May. You open with, "How did the race go?" She talks about it for three happy minutes, and the rest of the call goes a little easier.
Try YAFOY free and never forget the detail that matters.
Frequently asked questions
Capture details right after each conversation, start each note with the person's name, save the original message when possible, and review your notes before calls.
Not always. For a small number of important relationships, a simple notes system that you can search or ask in plain words is often enough.
Things that help you work well together: how they like to communicate, their working hours, and milestones they've chosen to share. Keep sensitive personal information out of your notes.
