“Who’s calling you at 6:45 in the morning?” My wife’s nosy that way, even when she’s half asleep. I reach for my phone…
But it’s not a phone call.
It’s an alarm.
After 5 years you’d think I wouldn’t need the reminder.
Except that I do.
Trash pickup is Wednesday at 7.
Usually I’m up, exercised, and in the garage in plenty of time.
Except when I’m not.
It could be anything: up late with a sick kid, up early prepping for a presentation, Monday holiday, …
Two or three times a year I forget that it’s Wednesday morning.
So I set a recurring alarm on my iPhone.
Which leads to some confusion on Wednesdays I’m accidentally sleeping in, but has never resulted in the trash not being out on time.
And it gets me thinking about your Elevator Pitch.
Because while this works well for things that happen on a regular schedule, what about following up from a networking event?
Just remember, there are only three people you need to follow up with… and none of them are prospects.
Because you already set up a sales call with any prospect you happened to meet… Right?
Good. That’s sales. It’s a nice side effect of networking, but it’s not actual networking.
Networking is choosing three people you enjoyed talking to and inviting them to coffee.
So the instant I get back in my car, I set up reminders.
I have a reminder category “Future” that holds everything that’s coming up. I copy the name and email address off their business card and set a reminder for when I’m back at my desk to send them the “invite to coffee” email.
“Andy, why don’t you just use a CRM?”
I don’t use a CRM at this stage, because a CRM encourages you to enter all these people from the event you’ll never, ever talk to again. It’s ends up being a huge waste of time. Especially since only two out of three of the people you actually enjoyed talking to will agree to meet for coffee. Which is why I don’t add people to my CRM until I’ve actually met with them.
So I spend one minute (as I leave the event) setting reminders, then another minute (back at my desk) sending emails. Then, instead of contacting a bunch of people who don’t have any idea who I am, I spend that time actually getting to know people I enjoy talking to.
Networking is getting to know people.
How do you follow up after a networking event?