How can you follow up with a contact effectively?

Ironically, I ask the person if they are on LinkedIn. Most answer in the affirmative. I ask them to send me a connection request to stay in touch. Perhaps 85% follow up and I always respond back. LinkedIn provides a fantastic forum for me to develop and maintain professional relationships.

Cultivating professional relationships post-conference requires patience and intention. Avoid expecting immediate benefits; instead, allow connections to evolve organically. Initiate by expressing interest through platforms like LinkedIn, facilitating mutual exploration of professional expertise. Enrich your profile with valuable content, showcasing your competencies and enhancing the appeal of a collaborative relationship. Remember, nurturing mutual interests and values with consistency lays the foundation for enduring and fruitful professional partnerships.

I think if you listened to the person and can follow up on the subject you learned from them or to add something that would help them. It is always good to give rather than expected return

The key to these emails right after a conference is to make them stand out. Everyone is going to be doing a standard templated followup, especially if they met with a lot of people 1:1. Personalize it with a few details from the conversation, maybe you talked about a sports team or the happy hour you both attended the night before.

It's important to recognize the time they gave to you during your first contact, and offer that same opportunity in return. Give the person the opportunity to make the next contact however they would like: email, social media, video, or the old-fashioned way: in person!

Most definitely. Many people overlook this. Being relevant and topical is key. The marketing term is called “breadcrumbing.”

A good thing to do here is do your research: suggest something you noticed they might like, something they'd find valuable. It should be related to something they've already told you. Asking "What are your priorities at the moment?" Or "I know you are working towards X, maybe there's something I can do to help." BUT always make sure this is true, the worst thing to do here is be inauthentic.

Mixing up your communication is crucial. My cadence is two emails, a phone call, Linkedin message, then back to email. Try different things. Do A/B testing to see what is more effective for you. The most important thing is you can't just ask for the followup meeting. Tie it back to your conversation. Ask questions. "Earlier you said you were struggling with [xyz]. Is that still the case?"

A good thing to do here is place them in a contact management system. A platform that can place them in a regular cadence of follow-up from different channels makes a big difference in your ability to juggle multiple contacts.

How often one keeps in touch and the type of 'touch' varies by the type of relationship. Touching base every few months with active clients, and vendors is a good thing. LinkedIn makes it easy to remember to touch base at birthdays, job changes, and work anniversaries.

At conferences one of the first things I ask is what fun thing a person would be doing if they were not at the conference. The answer usually leads to something fun!

Respect for someone's time is the most underrated form of showing respect for an individual. The gift of their time to you is something that can never be taken back. Treat it like the gift that it is. An honest thank you is the best thing. Similarly respect extends to timeliness and courtesy if you cannot make a meeting.

Finding common ground is the next step in building a good relationship. It may start with a common hobby or football team, but nurturing it by showing additional value may expand it into other areas.