Reach out to the people you will be networking with ahead of time. Start building connections before you even meet.
Two weeks ago, I joined an international networking conference call. Prior to the call we received a list of the people who had registered for the call. I really appreciated receiving this list and was excited to see who else had registered. There where 18 of us who had planned to attend the call.
After downloading the list, I wondered what to do to stand out from the crowd considering we’d all be vying for the opportunity to be memorable and connect on a deeper level with the other participants.
What I did was simple, I created a simple email message that could go out quickly before the call. Considering that the list did not include emails, just names, getting it out took a little work on my part. I had to go to the membership portion of the networking organizations site and send emails and connection requests to each person on the list.
I will be sharing the content of that email on my 30 Second Success, Live in 30! Facebook Live this coming Thursday, June 28th at 3:30pm. Mark your calendar if you want the details on the what my email said and bring your connection questions. I’ll gladly answer them for you.
One thing I will share here is that I included my calendar link for us to connect after the call. Most people took me up on it, they used my calendar! Yes, this is a great tool and since I started using it, my email requests to connect with folks via email or social media have received great responses almost all get a booking.
Back to the international networking conference call connections, I have connected with most of the members on the call to date. I’ve schedule follow-up calls with a few to discuss some opportunities to collaborate and one member asked to work with me at the end of our call on which we talked about everything but business.
When sharing these results with two friends over lunch, they reminded me that there must be a purpose to the call. My purpose was to truly connect and to get to know other women from across the country and around the world. Yes, I would love to explore working with them, but my focus was to build relationships and to get to know them.
I hope this story inspires you to reach out and start connecting with your network before events or online meetings. Build those connections and get to know the people in the organization. Business will happen, as it always does.
Join the “Live in 30!” Facebook Live with 30 Second Success. Like our page and mark your calendar for great information coming to you each week on “Live in 30!” where we talk networking, business, and personal development.
At 30 Second Success we help people develop their 30 second message for networking and video along with the skills to build your business through successful business and networking strategies. Schedule an appointment to learn more.
