 Following up on Networking Leads
Clients often struggle with the notion of following up with networking
contacts. Many are concerned that they will be perceived as a nuisance
if they follow up with a contact too aggressively. The key to a successful
follow up campaign is to be persistent without the other party knowing
it.
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If you call a networking contact and leave a message, your
follow up strategy should be to call every day at different
times without leaving additional messages. You might call
and leave a message on Monday, then follow up at 10am on Tuesday
morning, noon on Wednesday, 3pm on Thursday, and 4:30 on Friday.
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If you get the contact's voicemail,
don't leave additional messages.
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If you vary the timing of the
calls you increase the likelihood of getting
the contact in person.
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If you get a secretary or other type of gatekeeper, be polite
and try to develop a rapport with that person.
If they ask if you would like to leave a message a good response
is "No,
that's alright...when would be the best time
to reach this person? This strategy allows you to maintain
control over the interaction.
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If after several attempts
you are still unable to connect with your
networking contact, consider discussing the situation with the
original person who gave you the contact. Perhaps the contact is
swamped with a time-sensitive project or out of town on vacation
and you need to delay your follow up strategy until they
return.
While you won't be able to build a
relationship with every potential contact, you can improve your
chances of connecting with people in a timely fashion by following
these suggestions.
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