If you regularly attend networking events you probably meet a lot of interesting people. Some that you can do business with, some that could be referral sources and some that could be collaboration opportunities for projects you’re working on (hopefully you don’t go to events JUST to try to sell something to everyone you meet. Just saying).
How do you figure out who is who? By following up and continuing your conversations.
THE COFFEE MEETING MYTH
This is usually done by following up with an email, mentioning where you met and what you talked about and then asking to meet for coffee. Face to face meetings are usually the best to build rapport and trust BUT they’re not always the most practical for building and keeping up relationship momentum.
I’ve encountered this challenge recently (again): I met great people with opportunities to help each other, we’re both willing to meet face to face and then… Biz happens. Schedules collide and those coffee meetings get pushed back for weeks. In the meantime the momentum of that original conversation is slowing down (and sometimes stopping all together).
What’s the point here?
THE BUSINESS BUILDING TRUTH
IF you create and build business relationships the RIGHT way you’re looking for ways to help each other out (directly through working together, offering advice or making connections). If that’s your intention and a coffee meeting could take weeks it’s better to keep up the momentum with a phone call. Chances are both of you can jump on the phone for 20 minutes to touch base, discover more specifically how you can help each other out and then set up a time to meet in the near future.
This not only keeps things moving it makes for a MUCH more productive in person meeting. You get the generalities out of the way, learn more about what each of you are working on and then, when you meet face to face, you both can come to the table with ideas and connections to create forward momentum for BOTH of your careers.
So…
MOVING AHEAD
Maybe you have someone in mind that you recently met and you’re in the “coffee meeting email tag” situation. Maybe you’re going to an event this week and will be meeting new people. Give this a try:
- After you meet someone at a networking event, follow up with an email and mention where you met, specifically what you talked about and what opportunities you THINK you have to help each other out.
- In that email say that you’d like to continue the conversation. Then offer to set up a time to meet for coffee OR (and this is key) set up a phone call, even a brief one, to touch base and then set up a time to meet in the near future.
- You’ll probably get a faster response and start building more relationships than you would if you take the usual approach of “Every follow up meeting has to be a coffee meeting”
Give it a shot. See what happens.
Who can YOU reach out to TODAY to create or build momentum with for business networking?
