You dressed to impress, effectively mingled, collected an abundance of business cards, and crushed the networking event. Now what? It’s time to put that contact information to good use, and reach out to your newfound connections.
But, if you find yourself staring at a stack of business cards, unsure of your next move, consider these three tips that are guaranteed to help you build mutually beneficial relationships.
Send a quick email.
The good news is that your follow-up email after a networking event doesn’t have to be formal. However, you do need to get the ball rolling. Simply say that you enjoyed meeting them and do your best to reflect on something that you discussed during your initial conversation. Remember that your end goal is to schedule a meeting and/or phone call where you can spend more time establishing a positive business relationship.
Connect on social media.
Ah, social media—the ultimate connecting tool. After an event, there’s no shame in searching for your new connections on social media. However, you want to try and keep it professional. Connecting on LinkedIn allows an abundance of free tools to help you stay connected in a professional manner. For instance, upcoming birthdays or work anniversaries can be used as leverage for sending a follow-up message.
Remember the small things.
When it comes to building relationships, the small things oftentimes matter the most. After the networking event, take a few seconds to recap your conversation using bullet points on the back of the business cards. Try to include the little details—birthdays, family celebrations, upcoming trips—anything that you can use as a talking point or ice-breaker in your follow-up conversation.
At the end of the day, networking is an intricate part of business, but your responsibilities don’t end once the event is finished. Putting these three networking follow-up ideas to good use will help you continue to build profitable relationships.
