Social Networking

Social networking is all the buzz right now, especially with the economy in a sour state and the return of markets like we saw before unlikely.  I have talked about this before and I will continue to talk about it; social networking works for me.  Last week I received a message from Randi Handshoe from Penrod Services.  He is a gentleman that I had met at the Facilities Manager Trade Show that I attended at the end of last year.  I contacted him and we decided to meet for coffee.  When we met we discussed in depth what each of us do and realized that we could be beneficial to one another from at least the stand point of we will recommend one another if an opportunity arises. 

This is an excellent example of how networking can turn into business opportunities.  When networking, keep in mind that the person you are meeting might not be a customer right now.  Keep people and what they do in the back of your mind and actively networking keeping in mind the people you met "last week".  I always try to get a business card from the person that I meet.  When I get home, I turn the card over, write the date, the event and a couple of points that we discussed.  This does two things, 1) it makes you try and actually remember conversations you have with people and 2) it serves as a record or notes about people that you have met.  It is much easier to re-connect with someone that you met briefly when you have something to refer back to when you first met each other.  Networking takes some effort, but that effort can turn into clients and revenues in the future.