You are self-employed for the first time. Which would you rather be:
A – In the driver’s seat?
B – Passenger in the back seat?
I can bet you would pick A, right? [If there is any doubt, A is the correct and only answer when you own your own business.]
Now, onto the next big question. You are at a networking event in person (pretend if this now feels foreign to you!) … assuming you are putting relationships first and not just handing out cards… is it more important to:
A – Give someone your business card?
B – Get the other person’s business card?
Which did you answer? Most people starting out might answer A, but the better answer is B.
Why is this?
It puts YOU in the driver’s seat for follow up.
Imagine. You make a great connection with someone at an event. You hand them your card. You both sincerely want to connect. The person you just met leaves the event and goes back to their life with a million competing demands. Work piles up. Pets are meowing. Children are crying.
Where do you think following up with you falls in their priority list?
Exactly! About 3 pages after “clean up the hairball on the living room floor”.
This isn’t because they don’t want to connect with you. It is not because they would not benefit from your services.
It is because you are not their first (or fiftieth) priority.
Now. Imagine the same scenario and you get their business card and contact information (you may have also given them yours). You get home from the event and within 24-48 business hours you have slotted time in your schedule to follow up with the people you met there. (You HAVE done that, right?)
Now you remember your connection with them fondly and draft an email or give them a phone call.
With that one act you have exponentially increased your chances of re-connecting AND you are in the driver’s seat in your relationship follow up strategy.
Now they still may or may not have time to respond to you (remember “hairball on the carpet” is a regular occurrence not a once and done affair). But YOU can reach out again at periodic intervals based on your follow up frequency and strategy.
You are in action. You are in the driver’s seat.
Yes, you still need to remain unattached to the outcome. But you can take action and you increase your chances of a response.
In the moment at an event, it may seem like an insignificant choice (give or get). Practiced over time it is a subtle yet significant difference in the results you will experience.
Want to take charge and let your systems and habits amplify your results? Schedule a discovery call and let’s explore working together.