You just attended a great event, met a dozen new people, collected a handful of business cards and are heading out the door feeling satisfied about another great networking opportunity. BUT, you are not done yet. In fact, there is no “done” in networking. You did GREAT work getting the ball rolling, but the next step is VITAL to building the relationship and counting this experience as a networking success.
Follow up.
This is where 90% of Networkers drop the ball. To make sure you don’t miss out and have your efforts go to waste, take these actions after every networking opportunity:
1) Review your new contacts and select the ones that make sense to add to your network
2) Connect with your new contacts on Linked In within 24 hours using a personalized message
4)Learn about ways you can help your new contact and use these to build the relationship and stay in touch (e.g., send an article of interest, invite to an upcoming event, send a job opening, connect him/her with someone in your network, etc.)
Happy networking!