The 5 Habits of a Highly Effective Networker

Key points taken from the orginial article.
The old business card hoarder wouldn’t recognize me or my incredible network.  What changed?  For one, my post-event habits. But as with all good habits, I had to stick to them until they became automatic.

Here’s how I treat all those newly acquired business cards:

 ■Scribble the first chance I get. I’m not afraid to make a follow-up note to myself on someone’s business card that I have just received at an event or luncheon. (Note: This must be done out sight of the card owner: many people would find marking of their cards a cultural gaffe.) I find it incredibly effective if I can make the little note right there at the event.  These are tidbits of information that I think may be of use in the future; points I might otherwise quickly forget. A little note like “worked with Bob at ABC,” or “wants to talk about hiring CGA students” can be very valuable to aid recall when following up and making an effective connection.

 ■Sort and prioritize. As soon as I get home, to the office, or to the hotel, I gather all the day’s business cards. Instead of tossing them into a vast pile, I get to work on a quick sorting process, pen in hand.  This preliminary sort sets effective network building into action. Often one or two cards can be discarded immediately.  A few may require immediate email attention that night or first thing in the morning. The ones that require a LinkedIn response within 24 hours; I arrange them just after the important ones that require emails. It only takes a couple of minutes, and I have a tidy and incredibly valuable little stack of 10 cards or so.

 ■Initiate while the irons are hot. The first thing I do when I start work the next day or turn on the iPad at the coffee shop is  take out this little stack.  The critical email follow-ups are dealt with immediately. Often these are crucial because I’ve made a promise in a conversation to get in touch the following day. The LinkedIn follow-ups stay in the shirt pocket to be dealt with then or later that same day.

 ■Keeping LinkedIn. I keep LinkedIn as the default homepage on my web browser. This reminds me of that little LinkedIn stack in my pocket. It also reflects just how important networking maintenance is to me.

 ■LinkedIn: This time it’s personal. Lastly, I never ever use the default invitation greeting on LinkedIn. You know the one that reads, “Hello.  I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.” Always personalize your invitations. It helps the person remember who you are and that they’ve actually met you. This is where the little notes written on the business cards come in handy.