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Follow-ups are vital to effective business networking

Sydney printing service designs business cards for networking

When you meet a potentially helpful contact or client at a networking event, it is common to walk away feeling extremely satisfied - almost as if you have already reached a successful result.

While you have hopefully created a strong first impression and traded business cards - yours should be clear, informative and aesthetically pleasing - this is only the first step. A truly satisfying outcome will be reached when you make that follow-up call or email and eventually organise a second meeting.

Follow-ups are absolutely crucial to getting results out of new contacts. Since so many people fail to take the next step - whether it be due to laziness or waiting to hear from the other person first - you will make a positive impression by being proactive.

Networking blogger Jason Jacobsohn recommends getting in touch with new contacts no more than a few days later. He asserts that "prompt follow-up demonstrates that you care about building the relationship".

So how should you make that vital follow-up? This very much depends on how the previous conversation ended. If you promised to call, it is best to call. If you promised to send an email, then that is probably the most polite thing to do so as not to leave the person feeling ambushed on the phone.

However, in cases where the method of future contact was left open, it might be a great idea to telephone your contact, as most businesspeople receive a swarm of emails every day and could appreciate the chance to speak to a person rather than simply type a reply. This will especially be the case if your previous conversation flowed nicely and a mutual interest has been established.

For business card design, you may benefit from consulting a Sydney printing service about which style suits you and your enterprise's image.