Phenomenal Follow-Up – Part 1

Posted by admin on Jun 9, 2011 in Phenomenal Follow Up, The Skilled Networker | 1 comment

So you’ve just been to a networking meeting or a trade show, and you have dozens of business cards. What do you do with them?

Follow up is a hugely important part of your business. If you’re not following up properly, you’re leaving a lot of money on the table. Usually it takes 4 “no’s” to get the “yes”, and if you only have one contact with a person, you’re never going to get to that yes. It’s also very possible that the person you’re talking to will never use your services, but they may know people who will. How do you stay “top of mind” without being a total nuisance?

This is where a great follow-up system is crucial, and it’s important that it’s also “multi-touch”. Brandon Cornett, in his article How to Improve Your Client Followup says

“Go for a balance of automation and personal contact. Why? Because a program that`s 100% personal contact (phone calls, for example) will be exhausting to maintain. In the other extreme, a program that`s 100% automated (like a scheduled mailing program) will be too impersonal. You have to combine the two.”

“You have the best chance of generating referrals during this first year. In the second and third years, you might choose to reduce the number of phone calls, while keeping the newsletter and auto-mailers going. “

Sound good? Well, here’s how to set one up that will knock your contact’s socks off (yeah, it’s tedious at the start, but SO worth it in the end! Hire/barter with someone to set it up for you if you can’t manage it yourself):

Before the event
1. make sure you have a good contact management system. At the very least, set up Google calendar and gmail contacts
2. Make sure you have a free day scheduled after the event to set up your contact management system with the new contacts you meet at the event
3. Using an online greeting card management system, create a few card campaigns that are likely to appeal to a general audience that are somehow related to your industry. Make sure you also have one campaign set up to touch base on key holidays – Birthday, Anniversary, and Christmas, for example

At the event

4. when you’re in conversation with someone new, as you’re talking, be looking for something to say in your follow up. As soon as it hits you, make a note of it on the back of their card. You can find something in common — a topic of interest, whether personal or professional – or listen for what they may need help with.

After the Event

5. Send a “pleased to meet you” card, refering to specific things in your initial conversation – anything you might have in common or that might “connect” the two of you. Send a personal card that is purely casual and doesn’t include sales talk. On the front of the card have a photo of the client/prospect or their business card. This makes an enormous impact! Inside the card put a small photo of yourself (I do this as part of my “signature” at the bottom of my message). This helps the client “place” you and remember you more easily. If possible, send this card the day of the event or the next day at the latest,
6. Once the card is sent, set a date in your calendar 2 weeks out to give that person a phone call and arrange a date to meet for coffee. In your calendar put a few notes regarding information you might still be looking for about this client.
7. Scan their business card and file it into physical place (folder, Rolodex, etc) and also your Smartphone (use a tool like the CamCard Business Card Reader) and then enter all the information into your contact management system.

All of this should be accomplished the day of, or the day after the event. The sooner, the better. Your memory is fresher, and so is your contact’s memory!

Tomorrow I’ll show you how to make this work for the long term.

Darlene Hull

Darlene Hull is the owner and founder of HotSpot Promotion, a marketing company that specializes in affordable marketing for the “little guy” and Phenomenal Follow-Up. She is also the manager of the NW Chapter of CBN.