Getting the most from business networking (3/3)
Part 3 – Key things to do after a networking event:
Ok, so you’ve been to a breakfast meeting, a networking lunch or seminar, and you met some interesting people – what should you do now that you’re back at your desk? These are the things that have worked for me over the years.
Sort through the contacts you made: After an event I sort the people I talked to into four groups:
1) Add to database.
2) Add to database and ask for email permission.
3) Add to database, ask for email permission and connect on LinkedIn.
4) Add to database, ask for email permission, connect and invite for coffee.
Update your contacts database: Add everyone whose details you took to your database, making sure that you note where you met them. Even if you don’t think you’ll get in touch, keep a note of the contact, you never know who people know! There are some great tools out there for this, we use Highrise from 37 signals. When we add a contact, this is the data we look for (most, but not all, you can find on the card they gave you at the event):
- Name, address, telephone number(s)
- Website address
- Twitter – company and personal
- LinkedIn Profile
- Their company on LinkedIn
- A photo – you will find this on LinkedIn, Twitter, their website.
- Tag or note when and where you met. Additionally, jot some details about what you discussed.
- Appropriate segmentation tags that we have defined in our database – e.g. client-side, supply-side, seniority, industry, geography, etc.
Ask for marketing permission: As we add people to our database, we tag them with an ‘Opt-in’ flag for that month. At the end of the month an email goes out from our emarketing tool (Mailchimp) that asks them to opt-in to receiving email from us. We never assume permission – firstly because it is rude, and secondly because it’s against the law (Data Protection Act).
Connect with key people: Of the people you met, think about which ones you’d like to stay in touch with, and drop them an email – ideally the next day so that they remember you. I combine this with an invitation to connect on LinkedIn. When (if) they accept the connection, I tag them in LinkedIn with details of where we met and see if we know anyone in common.
Set-up one-to-one meetings: For those with whom you had really relevant conversations or some real common ground – set up a coffee. For this I suggest picking up the phone. I set aside one morning per week for networking coffees. This is blocked out in my diary and is precious.
One of the great things about the two tools I’ve mentioned is that they work really well together. Mailchimp imports from Highrise, and Highrise automatically adds a note if a contact opens or clicks an email that has been sent in Highrise. On the profile in Highrise (if you’ve noted their Twitter account) you see their latest tweets. These things are great for making sure that if you pick up the phone to them, you know what they’ve been up to lately.
Networking takes a lot of your time and energy – and yet so many people simply go along and see what happens. Clear Thought’s business over the last two years has been built exclusively through smart integrated online and offline networking. I hope that the tips in this three part article help you to get more from your business networking.
By Bryony Thomas | Chief Clear Thinker | Clear Thought Consulting Ltd | @bryonythomas | www.clear-thought.co.uk
If this blog is of interest to you, you my also like to read:
- Blog: Get the most from networking (1/3): Six things to do before an event
- Blog: Get the most from networking (2/3): Making yourself memorable
- Blog: B2B Social Media: Be There, Be Relevant, Be Proven
Clear Thought Consulting works with small businesses, equipping them with the marketing strategies, suppliers, skills and set-up that they need to become bigger businesses. We do this by planning and delivering 12-month marketing transformation programmes – supporting a small business through a step-by-step process to making marketing pay. We firmly believe that when you can’t out-spend your competition, you have to out-think them.
How do you follow-up after a networking event?
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Published on 5 August 2010
