I was talking with Kathleen Ronald recently, who is an expert on networking techniques, and she shared a networking tip that I've never heard before.
Following up with new contacts from a networking event is very important. However, it takes time to enter people in a contact manager and write appropriate e-mails.
Kathleen said that the way to make sure you follow up quickly is to block out time on your calendar for following up at the same time you add the networking event to your calendar.
This sounded very easy to do -- until I started doing it. It turned out to be harder than I expected to find a block of time between meetings and other tasks to focus on following up with new contacts, but it's helped me contact people a few days sooner.
By the way, Kathleen Ronald, “the Queen of Business Networking,” speaks at conferences and regional events, as well as coaches individuals and corporate teams. If you want to be a better networker call Kathleen.
