When Is It Too Late To Follow Up?
You know those people you met recently but haven't followed up with yet? Well, what are you waiting for?! Do you realize that follow up is
more important than attending an event? Why? Because, if you don’t keep in touch with a few of the prospects and colleagues you meet, you’ve wasted your time by going (well, almost).
Many clients ask me when is it too late to follow up and my answer is: never. The amount of time that has passed will simply determine what you say and how you say it. (If it’s been a while, you’ll need to remind them who you are and what you talked about).
This issue came up last week with several of my mentoring clients so here are 4 follow up guidelines I’ve offered to them:
1. Ask for something. Send an email message to everyone whose card you collected at a recent event. But go beyond “nice to meet you” and ask for help or a resource for a project you’re working on -- personal or professional. This can get a dialogue going between you.
2. Offer to meet or talk on the phone. In particular, choose someone you only exchanged cards with (but didn’t get a chance to talk to for long) and invite them for coffee or to view each other’s work.
3. Get them in your loop. If you have a newsletter (or even a semi- regular snail mail campaign), ask if you can keep in touch by adding them to your list (and tell them what they’ll get).
4. Get more involved. If you liked the event and want to get more involved with the group, follow up with one of the organizers and ask what kind of help they need.
And if you want to get this kind of advice from me -- tailored to your needs -- on a weekly basis, reply to this message with “mentoring” in the subject line or call me at (201) 653-0783. More info here:
http://www.artofselfpromotion.com/marketingmentor.html
