The 3 Steps of Networking
In my travels last month, I did a ton of networking and met lots of new people, with whom I made great connections. Now there’s a pile of business cards on my desk and I’ve just realized something important: there's more to networking than meeting new people. In fact, networking seems to have 3 distinct steps, and if you're not doing all three, then you're not doing the best networking you can.
1. Meeting new people (in person) and making a connection with them by learning something new or finding something in common.
2. Following up (via email, phone or mail) to remind your new contact of the conversation you had or the project idea you came up with.
3. Staying in touch (via email, phone, in person or a combination thereof) so they don't forget about you next month or next year when the timing is right. This is crucial.
In reality, it won’t take long to send a friendly follow up message to each of these people to keep the conversation going. Then, I'll add them to this tip list and stay in touch without dropping the ball. But if I bury the business cards under a pile of papers, I will lose the investment of time I made in those burgeoning relationships.
What about you and those business cards on your desk?
Ilise Benun
1012 Park Avenue
Hoboken, NJ 07030
(201) 653-0783
(201) 222-2494 fax
Copyright © 1999-2004
The Art of Self Promotion
All Rights Reserved
