Recently the 10 essential principles of business networking were posted to the 30SecondsGo! Blog. So far we shared details about #1 Elevator Speech, #2 Be Different, #3 Be a Giver, #4 Keep Your Integrity, #5 Relevance, and #6 Planned Networking. This week we are sharing more about principle #7 Follow up.

7. follow up on your commitments and promises

There are two main reasons for the importance of following up:
Networking only produces good results when you follow up.
Following up with contacts builds trust, reputation, and relationships.

Put negatively, to emphasis the points:
Networkers who meet people and never follow up are wasting their time.
Networkers who never follow up will eventually become known as time-wasters.

Follow up is a matter of relevance and commitment: If a contact or referral is not relevant, then say so, which avoids any expectation of follow up.

If there is relevance, follow up in whatever way is appropriate for the situation. Email, text, phone, handwritten note, etc., all of these are great ways to connect. Find out how people want you to connect with them and make a point to follow up where and when you agreed.

If you find that you are not wanting to follow up with meetings and referrals because of lack of relevance, then you should re-examine your group targeting strategy. You might be networking with the wrong groups and connections, it may be time to reevaluate your choices and find some new ones.

Coaching and connecting people is part of how we support our clients at 30 Second Success.  We work closely with clients to create a clear, concise message that connects with confidence. The ability to convert contacts into clients through your messaging is powerful. We help you take those opportunities to share your 30 second message and turn them into great networking connections. Contact us for more information.