Building and then maintaining a business relationship, much like any other kind of relationship, takes time, effort and consistency. The more proactive you are in your networking, the better you can expect the results to be. Even if networking is not something you’re very comfortable with, you can get better at it with time & practice.
Once you’ve met someone and made an initial connection, it’s imperative to follow up on it, if you want it to turn into an effective connection. Fortunately, the age of the internet has provided us with numerous platforms & tools that enable us to keep in touch with people easily. Between social networks, email apps & messaging apps, you’ve got everything you need – literally at your fingertips.
One of the simplest ways to stay in touch with a businessperson you’ve just met is to connect with them on LinkedIn. Taking the initiative to stay in touch shows them that you are serious about pursuing a connection with them. Sending a simple message saying it was great to meet them and telling them you would like to do so again, puts you on their radar, and starts building the confidence and trust they need to have in you to work with you, or to recommend you.
However, connecting over social networks isn’t enough to really build a connection. If you want to build strong relationships, meeting up one on one is crucial. When you meet someone face to face, it generates better and more effective conversations, enables you to get to know them better and find out what is important to them, and is the strongest foundation for building trust. Always go to these meetings with a plan in mind for your conversation. Having no aims or goals for your conversation makes it more likely that it might not move past the casual chatter stage.
To ensure that you are keeping your goals in mind, and fulfilling them, it can be helpful to have a mind map of your meeting, which should include:
- The timing of the meeting
- The purpose of your meeting
- Possible disruptions
- What you want to share and what you want to learn about the other person
- Predetermined steps to take if you don’t want to take the connection further
- Steps to take if you would like to take the connection further
If both parties want to take the connection further, agree on another time to meet right then and there effectively locking it down and preventing the possibility of losing that prospective business connection.
