Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Keeping in touch - it doesn't have to be that tough

One of the biggest challenges facing the active networker is keeping in touch with the many contacts they meet. If you are attending large numbers of networking events and also connecting with an array of new people online, how do you stay in touch on a regular basis?

Obviously online social networks are a great tool for keeping your name in front of many people efficiently, but the personal touch is equally important.

It doesn't have to be that difficult. I have just received an email from a fellow speaker and friend Graeme Codrington. Graeme subscribes to a book summary service and has just sent me the contents of a summary he has received from a book about networking strategy.

In the simple act of forwarding an email to me, Graeme has demonstrated that he is thinking of me and of what will be useful to me, has reinforced his position in my mind and helped to build our relationship.

When you see something interesting, don't just ask yourself how useful it is to you, ask who you know who would also be interested in it and forward it.

It's that simple.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for commenting on this Andy. You're absolutely correct that it is that simple, and easy to do.

    I sometimes go a step further. As a regular blogger (see http://www.connectioneconomy.com), I blog about things I've read or seen during the day. I often then email a copy of the link to a few contacts after writing it.

    This gives them valuable information, keeps me top of mind and everything else Andy mentions above. It also has the added benefit of pushing them to my website and from there to my profile.

    Enjoy the book, Andy...

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  2. I agree with the email forwarding, ensuring it's relevant - I like to add a short message, even if it's just "hi, thought this might interest you" to personalise it.

    Ian, I also like your idea of forwarding on blog posts, one I'll take on board.

    Kate

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