So you've been to a trade show or networking event, met heaps of interesting people, returned to the office all excited, then we all know what happens...... There are so many things to catch up on and the business cards, contacts on your Poken and those little scraps of paper tend to get forgotten.
Here are a few tips to help you along:
- Just like you, they have returned from a busy event so it's okay to leave it a week or so (I bet that makes you feel better) but put all the business cards, papers and your Poken login information in an envelope marked with the event name and date.
- Book yourself a time slot to enter all the contact info into your Outlook, CRM, or wherever you usually record them. If Poken was used at your event, login to your profile, sync your device and export the contacts.
- Make the first contact via email if you can. It should be in a very "non salesy" style, just a "great to meet you at the XYZ event, here is all my contact information", suggesting that you connect on Linkedin (include a link to your profile) and you will be in touch again soon. Book yourself time for a follow up in about a week.
- Before contacting them a second time, do a little research on their business to see what opportunities there maybe for both of you. Email or give them a call mentioning any synergies you may have and asking if they would like to meet up for a coffee (if local) or arrange a time to chat over the phone.
- Remember, nobody wants to be on the receiving end of a hard sell, so if you get no interest or response, don't despair, just mark them down to re-contact in 3-6 months and try again.
