Reconnect With Your Business Network!

In the daily drive to attract new business and grow your customer database, catching up with colleagues and keeping in touch with past introductions is a handy reminder of the gentle art of business networking. Often an invaluable source of ideas, leads and personal referral, reconnecting should be a regular entry in your online planner!

The influence of social media is revolutionising the “how, why and when” we communicate with each other. Embedding itself into our daily business and personal routines, it seems all is online brand identity building. In the fast world of mobile apps, and speaking to the world through smartphone and netbook, it may feel as if business is no longer dependent on one-two-one contact, replaced by online marketing, blog and newsletter.

Meeting people at network events, conferences and business dinners seems to be less important these days than the number of website hits or clicks onto your PPC ad. Traffic driving to sales conversion is the all consuming daily concern and you may have forgotten about that box of business cards, scribbled down email addresses and phone numbers from brief encounters or lively conversation from past chance meetings.

How much unused business potential is being overlooked by not keeping connected or failing to follow up over the longer term? It’s worth spending a few moments to relook at these ‘soft’ marketing strategies to tap into network possibilities:

E-mail – select who you want to re-establish contact with even if you were given a card years ago. If your receive a response, then you know there may be reciprocal interest.

Follow up – on an e-mail or call with an online network group invite, using say, Linked In, but don’t try the “cold call”! Contact by invite after a year or so may not produce a response because the recipient has little or no current context as to why you’re getting in touch. However, an e-mail resulting in a reply could mean that person has some interest in re-connecting and will know who you are when you send the invite.

Meet Up – using email, Twitter and Facebook and other social networks will help keep the ‘engagement’ going but it may be that you need to arrange a ‘coffee’, meeting face to face, as when you first met. Find a convenient time to suit their diaries.

Reminders - PC , mobile or online tools will remind you to e-mail or call an old contact, and help prevent losing touch with your network. Schedule follow-up contacts based on how close or important the contact is to you.

Remember - this is all about reintroducing yourself “as a human being” they want to relate to; perhaps consider working with on a project they might have in the pipeline. So take your salesperson’s hat off and don’t pitch yourself or your company!