Here is Part 2 on how to Follow up successfully and bring new clients and referrals to your legal practice. Here is the link for Part 1 where I covered how to follow up using a phone. In today's article I am going to cover following up by email and in person.
E-mail
Be careful when making contact by e-mail. Many people are offended by e-mail messages that are essentially generic marketing letters. It's more advisable to use these media as tools to communicate more personally with people you have already opened a dialogue with.
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure"-Marianne Williamson
The Secret to Successful Networking is Following Up Part 1
All the networking in the world serves no purpose if
you do not follow up effectively with the people you meet or who re referred to
you. I’ve seen people who work hard at making contacts but whose follow-up was
so bad that the contacts were lost. Its as if they networked halfway and
completely lost sight of the potential to generate world-of-mouth business.
Follow-up letteres and phone calls set the stage for further contact. All
things being equal, the more you’re in contact with others, the more business
you’ll generate. Today, more than ever, there’s no excuse for not following up.
When I travel abroad, I plan to meet for coffee with
people I met which helps me to stay in touch with people from different countries.
Schedule “reconnection calls” regularly. Such calls
enable you to remind the new contacts who you are, where you met them, and what
you do, as well as help you stay in touch with your log-term contacts. If you
don’t follow up with a phone call or letter, you will surely lose many business
opportunities.
Networking– Who Do You Know Who…?
“It’s not what you know, or who you know – it’s how well you know them that makes the difference”Have you ever attended a networking event, collected a bunch of business cards, and when you go through them the next day, you can't remember who many of them are?
Well, you certainly don't want to be one of those that other people can't remember? It's ok to pass out business cards, but if people don't remember you well they would not keep you in mind for their future needs or possible referrals.
But, what is networking and how do you learn important networking skills to meet more people and make better contacts?