Are You Following Up?
Published on 28 Jun 2007 at 3:35 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under Business Development, Career Tips, Feature Articles, Savvy Marketing Tips.
If you’re invested in growing your business, you gotta network and meet people. Whether you’re attending a social event, a PTA meeting, a business luncheon, awards dinner, golf outing, company picnic or standing in line at the supermarket, you have unlimited opportunities to strike up a conversation with someone new.
In many circumstances, initial conversations are pretty brief. We really get to know people when we set up coffee, lunch, or dinner meetings. Even - “tele-coffees“, as my Ozie friend says, “are great ways to get to know folks better“. Tele-coffees are 10-15 minute phone conversations with both people drinking coffee ,or anything else as if they met for coffee!
Here’s two networking mistakes many people make:
1. They have offered to do something for the other person (provide an intro, do a referral, send an article) and they forget or, they follow through many days or weeks later. Whatever you have agreed to do for the other person should (I try not to use that word!) be done within 24-48 hours of your meeting. If you need more time, a phone call or email within that time is appropriate and respectful to let them know you’re working on it. Timeliness and follow through will gain you a reputation of being a person of integrity and credibility. It will also make you memorable.
2. How often do you follow up with prospects and qualified leads? At one of my monthly meetings, we go around the table and tell people, who we are, what we do, and what we need in the span of 60 seconds. So, I usually say I need contacts to groups and organizations seeking speakers. If anyone at the table has any leads or ideas for getting more speaking engagements, they write something on the back of their card and pass it to me for a follow-up call or email. It is astonishing to me how many times I have passed my card to others who have never followed up with me to accept my help! Why come to a networking event if you don’t take advantage of the resources and help available? You’re wasting your time and money to come and you’re sure not serious about growing your business.
Now I can come up with lots of reasons why people drop the ball with follow up.
The bottom line is that if you are not following up with people you can be losing out on opportunities that can help your business grow. You might be missing out on a lot more!
Waddya think about this post? Tell me.
ask the Career Counselor — Helping you Navigate the Career Landscape on 13 Nov 2007 at 9:09 pm: 1
[...] Lorraine Cohen on something we all struggle with: Are You Following Up? posted on Powerfull Living. ‘If you are not following up with people you can be losing out on [...]
s-proprietor.com on 2 Jun 2008 at 10:41 am: 2
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