C.J. Hayden, Contributing Editor
Meeting new people, in person, is consistently rated as one of the most effective ways to find new prospects for selling your professional services. Yet, after ending up with a stack of business cards from a networking event—which is good news—we often feel overwhelmed and perhaps even afraid. What do we do with them all?
Remember Why You Are Networking
The whole point of meeting new people is to give you a starting point for developing a relationship. New contacts almost never become clients as the result of a one-time meeting. It's not the meeting that does the trick; it's the follow-up. So the true purpose of attending networking events is actually not to meet people. It's to give you introductions to people to then follow up with.
Timely and consistent follow-up is an essential factor for successful sales and marketing. In addition to following up with prospective clients, you should also be following up with potential referral sources.
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