We are always marketing our brand in business and in life, you never know who will come across your path. Keep these simple reminders handy when you walk out the door to your next conference, trade show or anywhere in life….
The name game. We all would like to be able to remember names better, especially at a conference where you’re meeting many new people. Remember to make eye contact so you remember their face, repeating their name when you respond to an introduction, and associating something else with their name. And my favorite- after they have walked away, write it down so it if fresh in your memory and something about them. This week, keep score on how many people you meet and add to your network and how many of them you were able to remember. Take the action step to write and record. You are taking the first step in building a relationship.
Postcards from the show. Imagine being one of your prime prospects or clients. You come home from a show and are inundated with people mailing you all the typical follow-up catalogs and brochures. Both your inbox and your physical mailbox for some will be inundated. How can you stand out? Send your connections a physical postcard from the city you’ve just been visiting. Now think of this: Mr. Client/Prospect returns back to his office several days later, and as he glances through the mail ( and people don’t receive much physical mail anymore…) he sees a postcard from L.A., from which he has just returned. He turns it over and it says, “Dear Mr. Client: It was great seeing you at the show. Thanks for your time and conversation.. As suggested, I’ll follow-up in the next week. All my best.” Now, do you think you’ll be remembered among all the other people who saw him at the show? Yes. I do this daily at the shows. I send out about 25 postcards at the end of each day so that I’m sure the postcards will get to them in a timely fashion.
I work hard on these two suggestions and strive to continue to put into practice. Very simple to read- tougher to implement.
I will continue with several more tips in Part 2.