6 Steps to be a Networking Rock Star

You're at an event and you meet some new people. You have 5 or so meaningful conversations and have a handful of business cards or notes in your journal to follow up. What you do next can make you a person they met once...or can make you a memorable rock star:

1. Follow up with each person with a note/email, thanking them for their valuable time. 

2. Reference something specific from the conversation. Show them you were listening and they left a memorable impression on you.

3. Share some helpful information - a link to an article you mentioned or thought of based on your conversation, the name of someone they should meet with a link to their Linked In profile, or offer to introduce them.

4. If you haven't already, send a connection link to them on Linked In, furthering both of your networks.

5. If you had a real connection, ask to get together for coffee or lunch to discuss further.

6. Lastly, and most importantly, do it SOON. It should be the next day, but the end of the day is better. 

Now we all do some of these steps to a certain degree, and I thought I was pretty good at it. That is until I met with Rebecca. Rebecca and I talked at an event and decided to get together soon. Rather than the ongoing back and forth of potential scheduling, she suggested we find time on our calendars right then. She had my attention. We scheduled a breakfast and she was earlier than I was. I'm liking this woman. Throughout the breakfast we're talking and sharing stories, mentioning articles we've read or people and organizations related to our discussion. We're each jotting our various notes in our journals. We part ways, each offering to follow up on a few points.

Here's where she was a standout... within an hour she had sent me a thank you note (subject line: Follow up to a Great Meeting) complete with a list of things she promised to send me. They included hot links to articles we discussed, a link to a Linked In profile for a person she recommended I get to know, and a promise to introduce me in a separate email. We are talking ROCK STAR status. This Goal Driven Women is on. her. game. I am inspired and now I need to step up my own game. Thank you to Rebecca (and all the rock star networkers in my life) for the valuable time and for the inspiration!  

How do you follow up? Share your tips and successes in the comments.