How To Become a Better Networker Part 5: How to Stay Connected

Congratulations! The networking event is finally done. How do you stay connected with your connections though?

Organize your business cards

Remember all of those business cards that you collected? As soon as you head home, organize them. It can be difficult to remember who was who the next day. Take your time to go through each card and write what you talked about on the back of the card. You have already laid the groundwork for being memorable when introducing your name and by asking “you-centric” questions. Keeping notes will help you when you reach out to them. Store the business cards together in an envelope or resealable bag that you have labelled with the date and name of the event.

Reach out

Don’t forget to reach out to your new connection no later than a week after you’ve met them. Refer back to your notes so that you can remind your connection who you are. Introduce yourself again, and tell your connection where they met you and how. Remind them why meeting them was meaningful to you. For example if the two of you talked about boats because it was something you both have in common, remind them.

Building Meaningful Connections Through Follow Up

It’s important to continue to follow up with your connections even passed the initial email. Invest in people and every connection. You never know where they will end up down the line. They’ll always remember the person who checks in every few months with them versus the person who only did once. If you’re afraid that you’ll forget to follow up, create a recurring calendar invite that will remind you to reconnect every few months.

There are many ways to reconnect with someone. You could set up a coffee chat (always offer to pay and make it convenient for them), see how you can add value to them, send them information of interest you both enjoy, and engage with them on their LinkedIn posts, or social media posts.

Every connection that you make is important, so make sure that you nurture each one. Staying on top of your connections allows you to build a quality network.

Contributed by Tiffany Kwong  www.thepickyprincess.ca