I went to a property networking event – now what? (Part 2)

This blog post follows on from I went to a networking event part 1…

Following up your “Active” list

You’ve sorted out your system for your business cards (if you haven’t, you might be interested in this), and now you have your follow-up lists.

Your ‘Active’ list has the details of all the people you met who expressed an active interest in what you do. This includes people who explicitly said that they are interested in what you do and those that are open to further conversations.

You might have mentioned that you’ll give them a call, so now you actually have to. The worst thing for your business is saying you’ll do something and then not doing it.

If you’ve read part 1, we talked about booking out time in your diary for doing the follow-ups after a networking event.

You can do this before or after the event, but if you do it before you can say to people that you’ll give them a call next Wednesday – because that’s when you’re making your follow up calls. It’s not rocket science, but it makes sense right?

Remember your ‘Active’ list is full of people that expressed an interest in you; you are not cold calling. That means they are more likely to welcome your call and be open to discussions, which should make the whole process a lot easier.

Being prepared is key, so make a plan before you make the call.

• It’s no good calling off the cuff and making it up as you go along.
• Clarify in advance what you want to achieve and what the best outcome would be for you.
• Have a rough idea of what you want to say so you clearly express yourself, but be prepared if they are too busy to talk (you can offer to call another time or send an email) or are no longer interested (thank them for their time – this could change in the future).
• Remember you’re not making a sales pitch, you’re building a relationship, so keep it friendly and professional and above all focus on how you could add value for them.

If you want some advice on following up on your ‘passive’ contacts, check out Part 3.

About the author

Steven Lai is a property investor, founder of Super Developments and creator of CRM for Property Success. He is a CRM expert with over 12 years commercial experience of managing sales teams.

Join the CRM for Property Success Facebook Group to ask him anything (about CRM, property or 80's trivia!).