The Evolution of Networking |

The Key to Networking Success is Follow_up

Posted on June 16th, 2010 by Sandy in Networking, Social Media

The Changing Face of Networking

I keep hearing networking has changed, it’s not the same as it was in the “old” days. But has it really? Fifty years ago (before my time) it was about making contacts and developing relationships. Isn’t the relationship still the main purpose? You might say to get the business is the main goal but to do that effectively you still should be building relationships. Those relationships help us gain referrals as well as making new friends. Sounds pretty simple, huh? Some of the groups or methods may have changed but the concept is the same. Our goal is to meet people (online or in person), build a relationship, exchange referrals, win the business etc.

In addition to the old standards of networking one that has come out on top is Meetup. It has helped evolve face to face networking to a new level. In fact a little over a year ago a friend of mine, Stephanie Inge, and I co-founded the first dedicated Social Media Marketing Meetup. We are now close to 700 strong and I have met some wonderful people there. It’s face-face networking at its best and educational! And we can’t forget the “good old boy’s network”. Still strong today although even that has evolved. In all these methods, follow-up was and is key to it’s success.

Structured Networking

There are structured networking groups in all major cities. I heard someone say not long ago that these groups are part of the “old” way of networking. I beg to differ, because if it works, it is still a viable method of networking. These groups normally have 20-30 members and each member has exclusivity in their business category. Most groups meet weekly and one maybe two members get to do a presentation on their business. Sure, it isn’t technology driven, but it does work. Very structured at each meeting but a great way to develop strong relationships with power partners. I’ve been members of groups that can boast millions of $$$ of successful business referrals in a year. It takes dedication and a willingness to work. So…don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it. Follow-up is key for success in this model.

All of the above networking activities have at one major thing in common. Face to face networking. Face to face networking will never go out of style. Most events today require an RSVP, so don’t forget the common social courtesy of responding. Even webinars and other online functions require or request an RSVP. Just because it is online, doesn’t mean you can ignore this important courtesy.

Does technology make us lazy?

Remember when voicemail first became popular? Okay so most of you don’t and well, maybe it was before you were born and I’m just old? (I can say that, you can’t) People fought the new technology because many people hid behind the technology. (some still do). If they didn’t want to talk they didn’t call back. Hey….why not blame it on the voicemail not working? You could no longer blame it on the receptionist who would eventually rat you out to callers who complained their messages weren’t being delivered. (Of course, you knew they were) No follow-up created problems for those trying to build relationships.

Then along came email. Ray Tomlinson is credited with inventing email in 1972 but it would be many years before it became mainstream. However, once again, people didn’t respond and blamed it on the technology not working when they just didn’t feel like responding. Now it is an acceptable way of doing business and the fact that companies could track emails made the standard excuses harder to use. Again..lack of follow-up here created problems.

Enter Social Media

Social media has broadened our networking abilities. Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and many others have given us the unprecedented ability to take our networking to new levels. Once again technology has helped us grow our networks even more than ever before. Companies are beginning to accept this into mainstream business more and more. If you don’t believe me, view the video below.

You’ve all heard that the most important thing in real estate is Location! Location! Location! In networking, it’s Follow-up! Follow-up! Follow-up! Have you ever sent an email to someone that you network with or are trying to build a relationship with and never received a response? What about sending a Tweet and no response? Phone call and no response? Request an RSVP and nothing? Linkedin request and no response? This is not a new situation but one that I find has gotten much worse in the past few years. Maybe it’s because we have so many social media platforms staring out at us now. Isn’t the whole idea of using social media for networking to build business relationships? When I send an email to someone to further develop that relationship and hear nothing back, I probably wouldn’t refer anyone to that person. Are we using too many social media platforms? Something to think about. (I see a new post coming up on it)

Followup Reminder We hear so much about personal branding but regardless of the buzz words, personal branding is nothing but your reputation and your integrity. As it has always been, your decision to ignore people and not follow-up properly will affect your reputation and bring questions about your integrity. With social media that effect can be faster and much more far reaching and damaging. Many companies have learned this the hard way. Don’t burn your bridges with people because you never no where they may be in the future. Networking is like running a marathon not running a sprint. You need to be in it for the long haul for it to be successful.

Use all of the networking techniques available but remember to follow-up!

So…..who do you need to follow-up with today?