Many of us are networking by meeting people online and collecting business cards at live events. Ideally, we will follow-up with those we have met with a \u201cGood meeting you\u201d email, but then what?<\/p>\n
Here are some tips for moving from a contact to a mutually beneficial business relationship.<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0Clearly understand who you want to meet.<\/strong>\u00a0How would you describe the perfect client or customer for your business? This could be by title, function, industry, location, income, age, gender or any combination of attributes. It is also helpful to have a profile of your ideal partners, suppliers and anyone else who is important to your professional success. In addition to being clear in your own mind about who you want to connect with, defining the criteria that fit your ideal prospect helps you search for contacts with tools such as LinkedIn and other online databases.<\/span><\/p>\n 2.\u00a0Try to listen twice as much as you speak,\u00a0<\/strong>when you meet someone for the first time. The more you can learn about what is important to them personally and professionally, the better off you will be. Unless you are incredibly fascinating, most people are more likely to remember you if they did most of the talking during your initial conversation.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0Think about how you can help others<\/strong>. When you make a habit of being genuinely helpful without any expectation of return, it does come back to you. This help could take the form of sharing valuable information, referring business to someone you met, advice or making an introduction.<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0Follow up with new connections after meeting them.<\/strong>\u00a0Relationships must be nurtured and touching base by phone or email after your initial meeting is an important starting point. You want to do this while you are still fresh in the mind of your new acquaintance. A phone call is warmer than an email, though you will often get their voice mail. Just have in mind what you want to say in your voice message if you have to leave one. Email has the advantage of being quick, non-intrusive and makes it easy for them to send you a reply.<\/p>\n