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Sorting Out Who's Who
| Guest post by: Ivan R. Misner |
Article Overview: So, let's say you've just returned from a networking event where you met a lot of new people and now you have a pocketful of business cards that you're not sure what to do with. What's your first order of business? Your first order of business is to sort out who's who.
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Free Download - Sorting Out Who's Who By Ivan R. Misner |
Sorting Out Who's Who
You need to separate the people you think might become new clients or referral partners right now from the ones who might be valuable contacts sometime in the future but not right away. Let's call the first group your A list, the rest your B list. (Sounds kind of Hollywood, doesn't it?) When you enter them into your contact database, labeling each contact as part of group "A" or "B" would be good to include (along with type of business, address, phone number, event where you met, etc.).
Now that you've got your contacts filed away neatly, take a look first at your B list. You want these folks to know you enjoyed meeting them, and you want to keep the door open for doing business with them later on if a good opportunity arises. You can do this with a quick note by either e-mail or snail mail.* If you find you need to reconnect with one of these people at a later time, you'll at least have some traction in the relationship simply because you followed up with a quick e-mail.
Now, what about your A list? These are people who have immediate potential as referral partners. You need to follow up with them quickly-within a few days, before you drop off their radars. First, initiate a "coffee connection" with each of your new contacts, a follow-up meeting where you can get to know her and find out how you can help her. Anything short of trying to find ways to help her will generally be treated as a sales call instead of a relationship-building contact. To ask for this first meeting, either a handwritten note or an e-mail is acceptable.*
At this point, you may be asking, "What about the people I meet who aren't potential clients and aren't in a field that can refer business to me? Should I follow up with them anyway?" Absolutely! You never know whom other people know; even a quick little "Nice to meet you" e-mail is better than not doing anything at all and hoping these people remember you later when you discover a need to do business with one of them.
Now that you know how to sort out who's who, be sure to do this each and every time with the business cards you gather in your daily networking activities and, I guarantee you, you will start to see greater results from your networking efforts.
*Come back to read a blog entry entitled "What's Your Excuse For Not Following UP" with specific examples of what your follow up notes to group A contacts and group B contacts should say-I'll give you two free follow-up note templates so you'll have no excuses for not following up with your new contacts. Trust me, following up couldn't be any easier than this!
Sorting out
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Article Tags: Business Cards, Database, Referral Partners, Referrals, Whos Who
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About the Author: Ivan R. Misner RSS for Ivan's articles - Visit Ivan's website Dr. Ivan Misner is the Founder & Chairman of BNI, the world's largest business networking organization. BNI was founded in 1985. The organization has over 5,800 chapters throughout every populated continent of the world. Last year alone, BNI generated 6.5 million referrals resulting in $2.8 billion dollars worth of business for its members. Called the "Father of Modern Networking" by CNN and the "Networking Guru" by Entrepreneur magazine, Dr. Misner is considered one of the world's leading experts on business networking and has been a keynote speaker for major corporations and associations throughout the world. He has been featured in the L.A. Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times, as well as numerous TV and radio shows including CNN, CNBC, and the BBC in London. Dr. Misner is on the Board of Trustees for the University of La Verne. He is also the Founder of the BNI-Misner Foundation and was recently named "Humanitarian of the Year" by a Southern California newspaper. He is married and lives with his wife Elisabeth and their three children in Claremont, CA. In his spare time!!! he is also an amateur magician and a black belt in karate. Click here to visit Ivan's website   The Networking Trick Thatll Increase Business Network With Confidence Networking Trends Education and Technology Are Key Howand WherePeople Network The Importance of Sales in Networking |
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