The Savvy Networker

ABC's of Follow Up - C is for Connecting

The best networkers are connectors at heart.  And, that is a very good thing because one of the most powerful ways to build relationships is to act as a connector for the key people in your life. 

How do you advocate and make warm connections for others?  You begin by paying very close attention to who your key person is at their core.  What are their core values?  Who do they serve best?  What makes their heart sing?  What gives them joy?  What is their passion? 

When you know these things about a person, I am confident that you are well past the knowing and liking stages of building relationships.  You are well on your way to the trusting stage.  So, when you know someone at their very core and you trust them to be true to themselves as you have grown to know them, then it is easy to take the next step.

And that next step is watching out for opportunities to introduce them to people that you know that would be a good fit with their purpose, passion, and competencies.

You are the conduit that can make magic happen for the people in your network.  Pay close attention to what people say they do and to what people say they need.  Then, begin connecting the dots.  By advocating for others and clearing the way so that their paths can converge for a moment or a lifetime, you will be well on your way to making favorable and lasting impressions on the key important people in your life.

Now that's connective!

ABC's of Follow Up - B is for Building Bridges

 

Follow Up is an important part of your ability to build relationships.  Actually, your follow up is the bridge that shortens the distance between know, like, and trust.

As Bob Burg says in Endless Referrals, "with all things being equal, people do business with people they know, like, and trust."

As you make your way through a networking event or opportunity, the urge to go for quantity (as in getting as many business cards as possible) should be avoided.  Instead, turn your focus to 2 or 3 quality relationships that you would like to build. 

You are much more likely to be able to carve out the time to do the follow up when you are looking at 3 contacts rather than 23 contacts.

To start bridging the gap between the known and unknown, let your follow up be about learning about the other person and thanking them for taking the time to visit with you at the event where you met.  An easy way to do this learning process is to visit their website, or their blog.  There, you can learn about what is important to them, or what makes them tick.  You could also do a Google search on their name or their business to see what else comes up.  In doing so, you'll be able to comment on something of value to them in your follow up.  Some might think this is a little like stalking, and if overdone, I would agree.  However, anyone who writes a blog, always appreciates knowing that someone has actually read it.

Your follow up with an individual that you have recently met should always be more about them than it is about you.  If you make it about you too early, you will come off as pushing for a sale and that is not what building relationships is about.  You are building a bridge to them so that you can grow past the knowing stage into the liking stage and then ultimately to the trusting stage.

These stages take time.  Bridges are not built overnight and your follow up strategy will not create relationships worth having in the short run either.  These are long term strategies.  Over the long term, you and they begin to understand where you click together, where the opportunities are for cooperation, collaboration, or the sharing of referrals, or the opportunity to do business with each other.

So what to do?

Send them a thank you email within 24 hours.  Thank them for spending time with you at the event and mention either something that you spoke about face to face, or mention something that you found on their website or blog.  You can let them know that they inspired you to learn more ... and that you are glad that you did.

Send them a hand written note within 48 hours (sooner if you can).  I know you have heard this a 1000 times.  Have you done it?  That's what I thought.  Hand written means, by the way, hand written.  You will stand out from all the rest when you do this.

Call them to request a time to meet if this is appropriate to your discussion when you met face to face originally.  Actually, this part of your follow up should be anticipated when you meet someone that you would like to be one of the 2 or 3 folks you intend to do this type of follow up with.  That means that when you do meet someone that you resonate with and would like to get to know better, be sure to ask them if another meeting for the purpose of getting to know each other better appeals to them.  If they say yes, then this is the next step.  Follow up to set up a time and a place to meet.  And, when you do this be sure to have an outline of what is in it for them to have this meeting with you.  Again, this needs to be more about them than it is about you ... so no bait and switch here.  Please do not tell someone that you want to get to know them better and then spend the whole time talking about yourself, your product, or your service.  This type of behavior is sure to sabotage any chance you had of creating trust in your relationship.

If after you have a second meeting with this person you want to continue building the relationship, you can then create a series of dates on your calendar to stay in touch via email and mail along with phone calls etc.  The frequency of your touches at this point are determined by the outcome of your meeting and the mutually beneficial relationship that you are building.

So, get out there and build some bridges.  Remember it's about the quality and not the quantity.  Stay focused, caring, and giving .... the foundation you build and the consistency of your efforts will impact your business growth.  Trust me on this, the pieces will all fit together ... to your success!

ABC's of Follow Up: A is for Action

If you are honest with yourself, you likely have a business card collection like the one in the photo here.  How does this happen?  It happens when we don't have a strategy for what to do with the business cards that we receive at events that we attend for networking purposes.  Without a strategy, the RUBBER BAND strategy gets put into play.  Please don't let this happen to you.

There are several strategies that you can put into play so that you can take proper Action with your follow up.

First, and most important, mark out time on your calendar for follow up.  When you mark off time on your calendar for the event, let's say 11AM to 1:30PM, then also mark off 4PM to 5PM for follow up. 

2nd, keep an arsenal of greeting cards available either in your office, or your car and use those for a handwritten note to people that you have designated as the 2 or 3 that you want to follow up with following the event.

3rd, use a system like Card Scan or Neat Receipts to quickly scan the information off of the cards and into your data base so that you can manage your contacts well over time.

4th, remember to keep it simple and about them ... not about you.  Early follow up should always be in gratitude for the meeting and for the time that they shared with you.  Early follow up is about building relationships not about sales.

5th, just go do it!  A is for Action.  Take action now to follow up with at least one person that you met this week.