Posted by Sundi Hayes in When was the last time you returned from a conference and wondered what the heck you were going to do with all those business cards you’d collected? The event could be as simple as a Chamber meeting or as complex as a week long conference. Either way, you have loose ends to tie up and for many of us it is the downer of a very inspirational event.
Relax! Your collection doesn’t have to look like this.
Here are some very simple steps to take as soon as you gather all the cards which are probably strewn hither and yon! Depending on the number of cards you have this could take you as little as 20 minutes so just settle in and get it done already.
Sort: Create three piles:
- Potential Clients
- Useful Networking
- Other
Sort: From the Potential Clients pile create three more piles:
- Hot – They acted interested in your services
- Warm – During the conversation they mentioned a goal or problem your service could address
- Cold – Someone you met who isn’t a great fit
Action: Take the hot and warm piles and immediately follow-up. Call or email to set up an appointment to meet. Then mark your calendar for your next followup step so you actually do it! Enter these folks in your CRM.
Sort: From the Useful Networking pile into:
- Those who would lead to other prospects. (Help with this coming later in the series!)
- Those who would lead to other networking events.
Action: Take the other prospects pile and followup requesting referrals. Enter the contact information of anyone who expresses interest in connecting you with potential clients.
Action: For the three remaining piles (Other, Cold and Leads to other networking events) it might be worth your time to send a “nice to meet you” note if you have the time. If not, these cards could simply be relocated to the trash. If your intuition tells you it is a waste of your time then let it go!
Hint: If you don’t take these simple steps all the time you spent on the event could be a waste!
Nibbling away -
Sundi
Sundi,
Great post and plan that most people struggle with. Although it can be kind of pain, the reality is that your time and effort at the event is wasted unless you follow-up…and sadly a lot of people don’t follow-up.
Thanks for sharing.
Shawn
Hey Sundi
Great post, really interesting read.
Please get in touch if you’d like to guest blog for Freelance Advisor sometime… I’d love to read the follow-ups too!
[...] When business cards suck – part 1… [...]
One thing you failed to mention is that when going through a pile of business cards you really should build a stack of cards of businesses who you can’t help OR can’t help you BUT may be of use to someone in your network of contacts. Networking is a TWO way street. Anyone who attendes a business networking event JUST to see what they can get from it really does not understand the way that networking works!
Thanks for the offer Michael. I’ll be in touch!
Thanks for pointing that out Geoff! I *totally* agree with you. If I don’t leave a networking event with a list of things I need to do then I don’t view it as a successful event. For the system I use that list doesn’t have anything to do with the business cards I’m holding though. I use my planner for that and during the event make a running list of things I need to do…send Joe that power point template, introduce Deb to Heather, send Lisa the link for tweetdeck…you get the idea. To me that list is completely independent of what I do with the business cards. Maybe Joe already has an assistant so he isn’t what I consider hot but I can still help him by sending the template. Deb and Heather are both into biking and I simply thinking introducing them would be a great connection to make. Your point is very valid. Thanks for stopping by Geoff!