Episode 7 - The Networking Follow-Up Most People Never Do
Hi I'm Keith and welcome to Networking Nuggets. Let's talk about one of the biggest networking mistakes people make and honestly it usually happens after the event is finished. You've had some good conversations. You've met interesting people. You swapped LinkedIn details.
Keith:Maybe even promised to grab a toffee sometime and then nothing. No message, no follow-up, no next step and that's where most networking potentially quietly dies. And that's why I'm going be talking today about the mutually agreed next step. Because one of the strange things about networking is that attending events by itself can feel productive. You leave thinking that was good or I met some great people but attending alone doesn't build relationships following up does.
Keith:So if that's the case then why don't most people follow-up? Because to be fair there's lots of reasons that people don't. Sometimes life just gets busy. Sometimes your workload just takes over and sometimes you simply forgot. But often it's just that people over complicate it.
Keith:They think what do I say? Oh I don't know I don't want to sound pushy. What if they're not interested? So instead of following up they do nothing. Because here's the real purpose of following up it's not chasing somebody.
Keith:It's not pestering them. It's not forcing a sale. It should be simply about continuing the conversation. That's all. And remember you've already started a conversation with most of these people.
Keith:I've lost count a number of times someone has said to me we really should catch up and six months later we still haven't. I'm sure you've all been there. And the frustrating thing is sometimes those relationships could have become collaborations, they might become clients, they might have led to some referrals, they could have built some great relationships but they disappeared because nobody, not the other person or indeed me, I'm not faultless in this either, neither person took the next step. So what should that next step be? Well a good follow-up message doesn't need to be clever.
Keith:It just needs to be personal, needs to be relevant and above all it needs to be human. So it can be something as simple as great to see you earlier, really enjoyed our conversation about x y z whatever it was you spoke about, Would you fancy grabbing a coffee sometime next week or virtual coffee if there's an online meeting? And that's it, that's all we need to put. That's enough. And here's why Muted Read Next Step is so important because the thing I've noticed when people forget to follow-up or when I forget to follow-up is because the follow-up has been vague In our conversation we've just said something like we should catch up sometime and if we're honest we both know that rarely becomes reality.
Keith:But if when you finish talking to that person or you come at the end of talking to that person you dance in your diary and say are you free next Thursday morning? Now that creates movement because now you've both got a date in your diary you're committed to. Okay, life happens sometimes that might get cancelled or moved for some reason. Hey not every appointment that happens we know that but at least you built something there rather than oh yeah sometime we must catch up. Because the truth about networking is that the real value in networking is built between the events and this is something that people often miss because the networking event itself that's just the introduction.
Keith:The real relationship building happens afterwards. It happens in conversations, in toffees, in follow-up calls and that's where the trust starts growing because you know I think we spoke in a previous episode about know, like, trust. If the person you're speaking to doesn't know you, they don't like you or they don't trust you they're not going to send business your way, they're not going to buy from you. The other thing to say is you know we all build this mental picture especially after networking we think oh yeah that person was good, that person was useful, that person I don't know. Don't only follow-up with the useful people.
Keith:Some people only follow-up with people they think might directly benefit them and that's a huge mistake. Because networking isn't just about immediate value sometimes the best opportunities come indirectly unexpectedly or months later. You generally never know who someone knows. I had a conversation on Thursday evening this week with someone I've not spoken to for in person for twelve months probably and they recognized that there was something I could do to help them. And yeah it's some business, is some revenue.
Keith:Now I wasn't at that meeting expecting revenue at all but meeting that person and we've already built a relationship meant you know I said I had some availability. He said I need this soon. Bang! Happy days for both of us. He then introduced me to someone else who's now asked for samples of my books.
Keith:So you just never know where these things are going to lead. So the opportunities can come and say indirectly unexpectedly months later because the other thing is you generally never know who someone knows. So the secret in all this is to become consistent. You don't need perfect systems. You don't need perfect wording.
Keith:You don't need perfect timing whatever that might be. A small number of genuine follow ups done consistently will outperform random bursts of enthusiasm. Just those random bursts it's hit and miss. It's like firing a shotgun up in the air and hoping that a bird might be passing at the time. Sometimes you strike lucky but 99 times out of 100 it'd be a waste of time.
Keith:One of the things I do now and this is something I've started doing fairly recently is taking screenshots when I'm in an online meeting of everyone who's in the call so then I can hunt their names down afterwards on LinkedIn and connect with them. And I would make sure I do that within twenty four to thirty six hours of the meeting so it's all fresh. I can contact them and say 'hey great to see you at xyz last night. Be great to Jeanette. How about next Thursday?
Keith:Does that work for you? If that works click here on my Calendly link and you can book straight into my diary or you can choose another date or time that works for you. Done. Doesn't need to be more complex than that. Because networking done right is all about the long game.
Keith:Not every follow-up leads to business. Indeed in my experience most won't. At least not immediately. But that's okay because networking is about staying visible. It's about staying remembered and it's about staying connected so that when opportunities do appear it's your name that comes to that person's mind.
Keith:So final thought the people who get the most from networking usually aren't the loudest, the slickiest or the most sales focused. They're often just the people who consistently follow-up, who continue conversations and most importantly who stay connected. Because networking isn't built in a single conversation it's built on what happened afterwards. I hope you found that useful. If you have please check out the other episodes of Networking Nuggets which are available online and do also look out for my new book From Awkward to Connected which is available on Amazon right now.
Keith:Just go to Amazon and search for my name Keith Budden or search for Awkward to Connected. Have a look and I'd love to have your feedback on what you think in the book or indeed what you think in this episode of Networking Nuggets. Until next time see you soon. If you found this week's episode useful make sure you follow or subscribe and if you want more check out Networking Nuggets on LinkedIn it's my weekly newsletter where I share deeper insights every Wednesday but also do check out my new book From Auckland to Connected available now on Amazon. Until next time keep connecting!
Keith:Networking Nuggets is a Think of Something Publishing production.
