So today is the day people wander back into the office from days of Stampeding and whooping it up in tents, bars and hotels (ballrooms and conference centers I mean). You look in your pockets and on your desk and see all sorts of cards from the last 10 days. Business cards, scraps of paper with names and numbers. Now is the time to act!
You can take the approach of most people - can't completely remember where you met each person, didn't make any notes on their cards and generally feel a little uncomfortable with just the idea of randomly calling people. No real agenda or reason to call (that you remember). So the cards will sit until next week. Hopefully then you will have more initiative and courage to make those re-introduction calls. Or maybe not.
Then there's the approach of people following our Stampede networking tips. You, like everyone else, return to your office with a stack of business cards and phone numbers. You have made notes on everyone of those cards and can at least piece together where you met each person and what you talked about. Now is a critical point ... what are you going to call about?! Too often people call with the "Hey, I am just touching base" message. Completely ineffective! So with each person you are going to call, plan to:
a) Remind them where you met;
b) Make reference to what you talked about in the beer tent (regardless of if it was personal or work); and
c) Give them a reason for you to keep talking, get together and build a relationship.
If you use these three keys and get back to each of the cards you have this week (starting Tuesday because Monday might be a little quick to pounce) then you are going to find business in those cards! Guaranteed!
Don't waste the opportunity to make use of all those great Stampede moments and contacts! Now is the time to act with a great offer and strong confidence that, even sober, they need what you are selling!
