Let's Do Lunch: Networking Follow Through (Action Wednesday/People)

Hello there, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing.  Today is Action Wednesday.  I had a great networking lunch yesterday and that’s what prompted me to share today’s advice about networking follow through.

Here at Once A Day Marketing I’ve talked a lot about networking and how important it is to build your contacts.  What I’ m recommending today is that you pick up the phone or send out an email and invite a contact to have lunch or perhaps a cup of coffee with you.  This way you are meeting face-to-face, you’re enhancing and building the relationship, and you’re having a real conversation.  This is what people do to build trust and camaraderie.   What will happen over time is that you’ll get opportunities for more business and you will strenghten your network.

Grabbing a cup of coffee or having that lunch is a great way to cultivate the relationship with your contact.  Over the last few weeks I’ve had some really good lunches and coffees with some new contacts from Twitter and LinkedIn.  Here are some of the results of our conversations. 

Once individual I met with suggested I might be able to help market and brand his non-profit organization, which he is a board member of.  I met with another contact who from the high-tech world and he’s working with a national fitness publisher who’s trying to get his story out via the internet and his social media marketing.  He suggested I meet this man.

I had coffee with a woman contact who’s returned to Santa Fe from back east and now we’re talking about collaborating on a social media project.  Then through LinkedIn I reconnected with a client from 10 years ago who’s in Chicago.  We had a great conversation on the phone and look forward to more chats in the future.

You don’t always have to have the meeting face-to-face but typically a lot more ideas are generated across the real table.  Regardless of the approach, it’s very beneficial to your business and personal brand to continue engaging these contacts and nurturing the relationships.

If you find yourself in Santa Fe, let’s do lunch.  Please join me tomorrow for Recon Thursday.  To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.