I go to a lot of networking events throughout the year. So I hand out a lot of business cards. Invariably after an event, I will get an email from a connection I have made. It reads something like this:
It was great meeting you at _____ event. Let me know how I can be of help to you. Visit my website at ____.
Now I need to ask you, is this truly follow-up to a prospective sales or networking connection? My answer is no.
Often, in the “To” portion of the email, the address is not personalized and usually is the email address of the sender. What the sender has done is carbon copy all recipients in Microsoft Outlook or other email program to avoid having to do a personalized email for each. The sender has also not invested in an email broadcast system which would have personalized the “To” address. This is a backhanded attempt to cover all bases. However, it covers none other than to give the sender the emotional satisfaction that he has “followed up” with all his new connections.
What I find even more amusing is that I often get these emails from people I have met and may even have known for many years. The impersonal touch makes me feel like a number, another thing checked off the To Do List.
So what should you do?
- Get Rid of the Guilt – Stop feeling guilty if you do not send an email or other message to every connection you have made at a networking event. This is what drives people to send, via carbon copy no less, a mass follow-up email. The people you meet are not expecting such a message from you and may even be annoyed at you loading up their inbox with a message two steps removed from being spam.
- Only Follow Up With the Most Promising Contacts – Chances are that even at a large event, you will only make a few valuable connections. Those are the ones that should receive a personal message from you. Refer to something unique about your encounter with them to jog their memory and to make them feel important because you were paying attention.
- Connect with New Contacts on Social Media – With email going the way of the dinosaur, connecting on social media is a low pressure way to keep in touch with valuable contacts. It may even get a conversation going that could lead to sales or referrals.
Tags: networking, networking strategies, sales strategies, Social Media, social networking, social networks, successful sales strategies
Leave A Reply (8 comments So Far)
Dana Freker Doody
688 days ago
I agree on all points when applied to personal meetings at events, but when we are talking visitors to tradeshow booths I think the mass email — if followed up personally at a later time — is OK. We have had nice comments from booth visitors when I send an email at the end of the show day to all of them, often with a picture of our staff in the booth, merely as a reminder of where they were and who they saw.
I have pushed this out in a few minutes on my way to the evening networking reception just to say thanks for coming by and provide contact info. Many tradeshow visitors decline paperwork, and this supplies them the information they may need before my sales team gets settled at home and starts qualifying. Yes, we ask visitors if they have immediate needs but sometimes people are in more of a hurry than you think.
This post is a great reminder that just that is NOT proper lead followup. I also think you might qualify which social networks would be appropriate. If I met someone at a luncheon who found me on Facebook I would think that a little creepy, because of the still personal nature of that site.
Heidi Thorne
687 days ago
You make some great points, Dana!
Agreed, many people are ditching paperwork of all kinds, even business cards, and a quick follow-up email to provide the shunned information may be appropriate. But as you point out, it must be followed up personally and properly at a later time. Though widespread use is still a ways off, newer technologies in the events industry that allow visitors to instantly request info from their smart phones may help reach those folks who ditch the paper pile. (For some cool new iPhone tools see Eric Lukazewski’s Tradeshow Insight blog post: 5 iPhone Apps for Your Next Tradeshow.)
Of the social networks, I think Twitter is probably the easiest and most appropriate first follow-up, with LinkedIn probably second. Facebook does tend to be a bit more personal. Whether to use Facebook or not I think depends on the nature of the audience. For some, it might be perfect. But in a B2B setting, probably not.
Thank you so much for taking the time to thoughtfully comment on the subject!
Brad Shorr
687 days ago
Heidi, Excellent suggestions. Feeling like a recipient of a mass email blast doesn’t spark interest in pursuing a relationship. If I ever send a mass message, I think I’d say something like, “Pardon my sending you this mass email, but just like you I met about 500 people at the show and I hate to ignore anyone. If you think we might have mutual business interests, I hope you’ll get in touch. In a nutshell, here’s what I do …”
Heidi Thorne
687 days ago
I like that, Brad! Identifying that you realize a prospect’s potential annoyance with getting an email from you may take off some resistance. That coupled with a killer subject line that stands out in the flood of follow-up emails may help get through the noise. Thanks for your continued support and insight!
Traci Browne
687 days ago
Heidi, great article and I wish everyone would follow this advice. I almost never go to ‘networking’ events anymore because I’m tired of all the follow-up calls from businesses that think “we have synergy” and want to get together for coffee (translate=I would like to get a hold of you customer list)
My other pet peeve is people who add me to their newsletter list because I handed them my card. Giving you my card does not automatically give you permission to add me to your mass mailing list. Same goes for trade shows. If I drop my card into a fishbowl for the chance to win a Harley that’s all I’ve done. If you are going to put all entries into your e-mail list then tell me that before I drop my card.
Part of the lead form should be, “can we add you to our mailing list?” Swiping my badge at your booth does not imply this permission.
You will notice me if you bump into me at a networking event. I will be the one that asks “why?” when you ask me for my card.
Curious…am I the only one who feels this way?
Heidi Thorne
687 days ago
Traci, you are not the only one that feels this way.
It’s a shame that we feel we need to avoid face-to-face events because we want to avoid the “follow-up” by networking leeches. I also get annoyed by those who then want to waste my precious Starbucks time by trying to sponge free consulting out of me. Synergy… yeah, right.
Your comment about the e-newsletter situation is oh so relevant as we move farther into a social media communicating de facto standard. In previous posts, I’ve noted that email is going the way of the dinosaur. It’s becoming extinct because people have abused email for impersonal, broadcast newsletter blasts that load up an inbox and waste the recipient’s time to delete. Plus, since a lot of people just delete these types of messages without even reading, it’s a lesson in futility to produce them anyhow. That’s why earlier this year I eliminated my email newsletter that I had been doing for a couple of years and converted it into a blog. You want me in your email or RSS feed? Fine. If not, that’s fine, too. But either way, as the recipient, you’re in charge. Okay, I’ll get off my anti-eblast soapbox.
I am definitely going to try the “Why do you want my business card?” strategy at some upcoming networking events. That has got to make people think about what they are doing. It’ll also save some $$$ on your business card budget. Gotta like that.
BTW, did you win the Harley?
Paul Cook
676 days ago
Heidi, I love the thinking going on with your post. Traci makes great points also about the prize draw as a means of building a database. So many companies do it. They should ask.
My key frustration is the many e mails that come zipping in to my e mail box the moment I have registered to go to a tradeshow. All sorts of people inviting me to do business with them. I have no idea why the exhibiting companies do not target visitors and demonstrate that they have an understanding of what my company is involved in (then I wouldn’t mind as much). But the volume of e mails prior to a show these days is just a joke.
Heidi Thorne
676 days ago
Know exactly what you are talking about with the pre-show email onslaught! I am going to the ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute) Show for the promotional products biz this week. This is a big pre-holiday season show and you can imagine what my email inbox looks like. My index finger is getting a little sore from clicking the delete button so many times.
Yes, a personal and personalized invitation to a show visitor is the way to demonstrate interest and make a tradeshow connection. Thanks for your support and insight, as always!