Make New Friends, but Keep the Old: How to maintain your network
With more than 2 million people living in Houston, it’s important to build a circle of trusted friends and collaborators for your business and your social life. Creating a network really isn’t that hard either, what with a constant flood of invites to happy hours, gallery openings and galas popping up online on the reg.
It’s hard to resist these chances to meet your next business partner or a new best friend. RSVP click after RSVP click, your after work calendar piles up with events and soon, an already bursting bag fills with business cards from people whose faces you can hardly place when you get home.
Is this the way to network? Attending every single one of these events to meet as many people as you can in the shortest amount of time seems a bit counterproductive. Sure, you can try to meet every person inside and outside the loop and your industry. But, are you really connecting with them?
We don’t think so.
You can’t just meet a bunch of people and expect every relationship to fall into place. You have to build these connections long after an event is finished to really reap the benefits. We have a few ideas for how you can turn all these friendly handshakes and stacks of business cards into the new clients, collaborators and best friends you’re looking for.
Repeat to Remember
As soon as you meet someone, repeat their name at least five times. Read their name tag over-and-over or say their name in conversation or spell their name in your head when you walk away. Do ANYTHING so their name sticks with you. Your connection’s name is the starting point for the rest of your relationship. F’ that up and you’ve wasted the past 10 minutes you spent talking about the new episode of Breaking Bad and your shared passion for old school hip-hop.
Create a Relationship Catalog
Not all of us have a photographic memory or the recall of an elephant. Once you’ve got your new friend’s name, you need to write their information down. As soon as that business card gets in your hand or that contact info in your phone, write down where you met that person and what you talked about. Not in front of this new friend’s face, because that’s kind of creepy, but when you step away jot everything down real quick before you move onto the next person. And repeat.
Then, when you get home, create an excel sheet to plug in the details. You could even use NeatDesk to do all work for you. Take those relationship specifics you jotted down and put them into a “Notes” column. This document will serve as a reminder and a starting point for conversation when you meet or connect again. Just make sure that when you’re done inputting those business cards they make their way to a recycle bin!
Connect Online
It’s OK to Internet stalk people once you’ve met them in real life. Find your connection’s social media channels to create an easy, real-time channel for communication. We suggest sticking to Twitter and LinkedIn, because most people use these channels for professional personas. When connecting on LinkedIn, use your notes to remind them who you are, what you talked about and where you met. When you follow them on Twitter, say a quick “Hello! It was nice to meet you.” Your connection will be flattered you took an extra step to connect or impressed that you remembered specific information from your brief meeting.
Connect Offline
Not all relationships are going to get to this step. And you shouldn’t expect them to. For some people, conversing online is enough to keep the relationship alive. But for others, you may want to meet up again. These are the people you foresee potential friendships or business plans blooming with. Really, offline plans come about pretty organically if the connection you’ve made is solid and interesting. You’ll just need to be the one to inventory whether the relationship you’ve made is strictly business or a new friendship. Act appropriately and see where the future leads!
Don’t try to cast a wide net when networking. Shaking hand-after-hand and passing out hundreds of business cards with no follow up is not how you become a front-of-mind memory for people. Relationship building takes time and effort. Don’t rely on new connections to remember you or move the relationship along. If you can see the potential for a great friendship or business partnership, YOU are the one that should be focusing on the follow-up. Truly deep relationships will only come about with a small group of people, but as long as you show each person you meet that their relationship matters to you, you’re in a better position for future opportunities of all kinds.