Three Articles On The Art Of Following Up After An Introduction

Followup 3 Articles Plus One Edit

These are three articles that I wrote for a client on odesk: http://bit.ly/1AbLqYQ. It was requested that each of the articles be under five hundred words. They will be used as blog posts during the launch of his app, which helps introduce business clients to each other electronically. I also edited a fourth blog post that he wrote.  I have not included that here.

WHY BUSINESS LEADERS HAVE GREAT FOLLOW-UP

One of the most difficult things to do in business is to consistently and effectively follow-up on an introduction or a first meeting. Learning the best way to create, nurture, and maintain new connections, as well as your more established relationships is essential to growth.

People that find networking uncomfortable or too time consuming are unfortunately the most likely to neglect this kind of thing, which prevents what could be a very useful association from moving to the next level. This of course only leads to the need for more introductions and presentations, and it becomes a never ending cycle of failure. It’s a waste of time and energy.

The road to success is in making the most of the opportunities that you are given. Two of the keys to this process is having the right motivation and being genuine in your interactions. If you go into a meeting with a greed mentality or a self-centered attitude, you will be wasting everyone’s time including your own.

Remember, your goal is to create a business network that perpetuates value and success for everyone. That means taking your time and looking for ways that you can add to your relationships, to create a cycle of investment and generosity.

If you want new acquaintances to be interested in you, learn to be interested in them. This goes for your more deeply-rooted business associates too. Finding ways to help, appreciate, and relate to them, amplifies commitment. It can move things where you want them to go or in directions you can’t even predict right now.

If you want to have great contacts, you need to practice being one. Follow-up is not a one time thing and you are not even looking for an immediate pay-off. This is courtship. Be persistent, but be subtle too and have patience.

That kind of thing can’t be forced, so don’t push for a quick yes. That’s why regular engagement needs to become a lifestyle choice. If you wait until you need something, it will be too late. Desperation and selfishness is never attractive. You need to be selling yourself and your business way before that point, and you need to be doing it all the time.

THE THREE I’S IN FOLLOWING UP

Regular follow-up communication often focuses on either invitation, information, or introduction. If you can think of events, people, and information that might be of interest or help to your contacts, sharing that is an effective way of building a foundation for greater closeness.

If, you want to continue to be on your business associate’s radar, start, as soon as you meet someone that you want a deeper relationship with, by sending them an email or perhaps even a handwritten note. In this modern world, little things like that stand out even more. The same can be said for small gifts. It can be as simple as a coffee and a muffin.

Move introductions beyond the simple exchange of business cards. Tell them why you admire their work or accomplishments and give reasons why you enjoyed meeting them. Ask questions and give them a reason to re-engage with you.

If you can think of a way to bring immediate value to your connection by helping them, that is the best way to start. Making introductions between members of your business network creates the ability to approach problems from multiple angles and helps both widen and deepen your connections.

If someone made a new connection for you, remember to close the loop and follow-up in a timely way with them as well. Make sure they know how much the introduction was appreciated and keep them informed of any hopes, plans or progress. It’s an important opportunity to strengthen a relationship with them as well. Graciousness and manners are always influential. Anything else might be seen as rude, and we don’t want that!

We need to remember our older business relationships and make sure they don’t feel passed over, for our latest flight of fancy. Someone that goes out of their way to help like that, should go to the top of your regular follow-up list, so be sure to make a note to yourself to make sure that happens. Remember the three I’s when interacting with them as well. Even well established business contacts need regular follow-up, if they are to be permanent fixtures that you can depend on.

THE FREIGHT TRAIN OF MUTUAL SUCESS

The next step, after initially following up a new introduction or first meeting, is to show a continual sense of momentum and confidence. This is where social media tools can come into play. After some time has passed, share news about your business or newest project, and make sure that everyone involved is connected into any relevant profiles or blogs.

Don’t be overly dependent on mass mailings, though. Personal touches in today’s modern world are always going to be more compelling. An expert sales technique is to hold back a tasty tidbit, for just such a contingency, during an initial encounter. It encourages investment to show frequent progress and success. It shows your train of success is moving, and that you are someone contacts want to get on board with.

Contacts are more likely to be interested in you, if they think there are other interested parties or good associations to be made, so share your prosperity, and increase the connections in your network exponentially, by making mutually beneficial introductions. Ideally, you want to create a sense of urgency and attractiveness, as you build rapport.

Remember, even trains of success need to follow a schedule. Set aside regular time for networking and create personal files to help you. That might seem like an artificial basis for a relationship, but it is a fast paced world. It’s difficult to remember all the little things like birthdays and the names of spouses or children. You never know when information about hobbies or common interests might be useful.

I suggest that you keep an updated list of people you want to create a stronger connection with over the next few months or years, then plan a way to accomplish that. Make notes about progress or future plans, as well as any things that didn’t work out as well as you had hoped. You don’t want to make the same mistake twice.

People will give attention to you, if they see you giving it to them first. Another idea might be to record a new contact’s favorite drink or food preference. Little details like that can be remarkably impressive. Everyone enjoys being remembered and important enough to be catered to a little bit. It makes them feel like a VIP. Be appreciative and attentive. That is the way to get on track to building a network which will take you where you want to go.