| Follow up: Key to Networking Success
For all our interest in networking, following up is just as important. Many one-person business owners find they either don't follow up
because they don't know what to do, or develop such an elaborate
system for keeping in touch that it quickly breaks down and
becomes unworkable. Typical downfalls include: --using the same personally intensive strategy and activities for everyone they meet, finding they have no time for service delivery --flooding new contacts with electronic information, but don't check in to see if
there is a real fit --letting months go between contacts and then being dismayed with few responses to offers.
Networking Maven Kristy Rogers, is not only well know for her
prowess in networking, having received three major networking
awards just this year alone, but also conducts great seminars on
following up. (http://www.KristyRogersConnects.com
408-288-8484)
Following up, says Kristy, is crucial. Especially for people who are
in their first three years of running their businesses or those who
need to grow their businesses. Yet most people, even those who know they 'should,' don't follow up after meeting new potential
clients.
Kristy identified the three most common follow up mistakes
one-person business owners make:
-
Not scheduling time for follow up on your calendar. If you don't make a follow-up appointment, or if you don't keep
the appointment with yourself for follow up activities, they
won't get done.
-
Not developing the habit of following up. Set up some simple follow-up systems and tools: have note cards and stamps
handy. Write a few sample notes you can use for either
email or snail mail. Make following up part of your daily
routine. Use 'scrap time' to dash off a quick note/email to
one of your contacts. Build your library of 'one sheets'
describing your various products and services. Format
printed and electronic copies of articles, especially your own,
ready for distribution.
-
Not capturing your contacts in an electronic format. Most people struggle with this task because they get hung up on finding the 'perfect program' to use. Should it be Goldmine, Outlook, Entourage, Excel, and so on and so on. Kristy is adamant about this common sabotage: 'Stop waiting until you find the perfect system and just do it.' Most of us have Excel, it's a part of the Microsoft Office package. Just use it! If you are starting to capture contact info. Take a course, use the tutorial that is included, ask a friend, pay an expert to set up a simple system. Just start. (Of course this doesn't mean automatically putting every new contact onto your
ezine list. Most of us have more than enough email to deal with already, and just get annoyed at having to unsubscribe from unwanted ezines.)
Why don't people follow up? The biggest block cited by participants in Kristy's workshop is 'not knowing what to say.' She
suggests having a script when you phone, or write your follow-up
notes. Practice and polish your script, and soon you'll be much
more comfortable with follow-up calls.
Professional Speaker Marc LeBlanc considers keeping in touch so
important he calls it 'The Greatest Marketing Strategy in the
World.' Growing Your Business, available from
http://www.SmallBusinessSuccess.com, is best known for Mark's clear
instructions for crafting your defining statement, your 'elevator
speech,' how you quickly explain your unique selling proposition (USP). While developing a great defining statement is
necessary, for me the gem in his book was his keeping in touch
strategy, his Target 25.
Mark suggests you identify the 25 people in your life who are in a position to impact your business. Then make the most of your
Target 25 by following his two 'rules': --Never let any of them get
more than 30 days of hearing from/about you --Each of them must
know your defining statement.
Why 25? -- More could quickly become overwhelming.
Why 30 days? -- We're all busy and need reminders.
At this point most folks go right to an electronic newsletter, ezine,
as their primary stay in touch strategy. And, you should have one.
But don't stop with only an ezine. Ezines have become necessary
but not sufficient. Use all your stay-in-touch tools and techniques:
face-to-face meetings, fax, personal notes, and even phone calls.
Evaluating your Follow-up System
Evaluating the effectiveness of your follow-up system has two parts:
Whatever keep-in-touch system you develop, make it easy to
implement so you will keep it up. Too often the system becomes so
complicated or unwieldy it is quickly abandoned as too much
trouble. Start small and simple.
Assessing results from your follow-up system is crucial. Not always
easy, but very important. Too many professionals stay busy with
marketing tasks and activities that don't give needed results.
Track the source of all new leads. Compare the amount of effort,
costs, and time against number of leads. Identify your best
sources.
One colleague has spent enormous amounts of time and money
with one 'networking' group only to find it was a social experience
not a business building experience. 'Doing the numbers' showed
new business came through referrals from existing clients, not
networking events. She has shifted her keep-in-touch activities to
her client base, rather than relying on networking events to fuel new business.
Both Kristy and Mark define action plans for Patricia Fripp's
marketing maxim: 'It is not your customers' responsibility to
remember you, but your responsibility to ensure they never forget
you.' As Kristy reminded me, 'It is up to the salesperson to drive
the sales process. You must drive your own follow-up program.'
Don't wait to get started on your action plan. Your business will
thank you, and your bank account will thank you.
________
Patricia
Wiklund Ph.D., author, consultant, and coach
works with 1Person Business owners who want
to grow their businesses by getting and
staying focused, maximizing their sales and
marketing efforts, and delivering premier
services to their target markets.
Information on her coaching services and
on-line product catalogue can be found at
www.1PersonBusiness.com.
An
electronic version of this article is
available if you wish to reprint or repost
it. Please contact Dr. Pat Wiklund for
permission to reprint, and to see if there
is a royalty required for reprint. If
permission is granted, we request a hard
copy of the publication in which the article
appears. We request you include Pat's bio at
the end of the piece, along with contract
information, and preferably, a photo. We'll
happily supply a 5x7 black and white or
color photo if you can use it.
Reprinting and
Reposting
An
electronic version of these articles is available if you
wish to reprint or repost one of them. Please contact Dr.
Pat Wiklund for permission to reprint, and to see if there
is a royalty required for reprint.
If permission is granted, we request a hard copy of the
publication in which the article appears. We request you
include Pat's bio at the end of the piece, along with
contract information, and preferably, a photo. We'll happily
supply a 5x7 black and white or color photo if you can use
it.
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