Content Management Your Competitive Edge

You return home after a networking event and empty your pockets, putting the business cards you collected onto the desk.

What comes next? If you are one of those people who organize them in neat piles, tied with a rubber band and a promise to get to them someday, just toss them in the trash! Why - because people have a short memory.

Be honest, do you remember what you had for lunch three days ago? I bet you don't.
And yet the interaction you had with you lunch was significantly more intimate, than the conversation you had at the networking event. So if you can't remember what you ate three days ago, how can you expect someone to remember you a week later?

When you come home from a networking event, you have 24 - 48 hours to follow up. After that it is too late! No one said this was easy. Networking is work!

If you have met quite a few people, sort through the cards, select one or two with whom you want to follow-up. Send an email or better yet a hand written card within 48 hours. The note does not have to be long. It should however, remind the person where you met, and open the door for a future conversation.

When evaluating with whom you want to follow up and stay in touch, think about what you can do for them. Be fair, if you can't see yourself ever referring any business their way, don't waste their time or yours cultivating the relationship.

What makes good follow-up? If you were asking good questions and really listening during your brief networking conversation, you probably have a few ideas. Consider an article on a topic of interest or an electronic introduction to someone you think they should meet.

Do not use this first contact after a networking event as an opportunity for a sales pitch:

Hi, I enjoyed meeting you and by the way if you are looking (for insert product name here) That not-so-subtle approach says "I am not really interested in you, unless you want to buy something." An experienced networker knows it may take a few conversations to move to the sale mode, but when you get there, you have a greater chance of success.

What should you do in the meantime, after you have sent your follow up notes, or made a few phone calls? Organize your contacts. This does not mean sorting them alphabetically and putting them in a box or binder. That tactic was fine in 1977, but it is not enough today.

To use the contacts you have collected you must organized the data electronically, in a data base, spread sheet or contact management program. The availability of affordable, easy-to-use contact management software has made this process something everyone can do.

No one format makes sense for every business. Excel, Act, Outlook, Goldmine, and Access, are all possible foundations for your marketing data base. Evaluate potential programs by looking for easy-to-use tools with the ability to create output reports in a useful format. A useful format is what makes sense to you, not someone else!

Creating a data base with the basic information; name, address, title, phone, email is only a starting point. For your networking data base, be sure to capture industry, and key markets served. At some point a client may ask you, do you know someone who (sells, makes, builds something). With an electronic data base, names, addresses and phone numbers are a few key strokes away.

And the base way to earn a referral is to give one. With a well organized data base. It is easy to do!