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Dusty Business Cards? Treat them in the following Profitable Ways

Enterprise Team

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Networking events have been on the rise in the corporate world. There are companies that are entirely dedicated to organizing these events with an aim of encouraging exchanging of ideas to enhance operations in business.

Modern day entrepreneurs committedly attend the expos, chamber gatherings and other networking events. They attend the informative session and the most important of all segments is when they get to a break and can now engage with the other participants.  The engagements and the exchanges certainly leave you, the business person with pockets full of business cards. Certainly you treasure the business cards from the important contacts you met. What happens to those you receive from the contacts you may never speak to again?

Fortunately, you cannot decline the business cards even when you do not intend to contact them in the future. So you collect them. When you get to the office, you empty your pockets or purse for the ladies and place them at a corner in the office.

Days pass by they accumulate dust. The clean girl having seen then over and over decides to discard them. They are not a pleasant view. The networking event that you spent so much on goes down the drain.

The unfortunate thing is that you have not recognized the precious opportunity presented by this exchange of business cards. It is the golden opportunity of creating or developing a business network.

This article will help you develop a habit of gradually but surely developing your business network after the ever increasing networking events.

1. Set aside time to deal with your Business Cards

As you dedicatedly attended the networking event, so should you be dedicated in dealing with the countless cards. This is something you ought to schedule for in your to-do list. Attend to the business cards preferably within 24hrs after the event. This helps you have a vivid image of the people whose cards you have.

Type down their details; say on your iPad or into Microsoft Outlook. Do not just put down their names and contacts and their designation of their companies. Remember to record the event that you met. Remember also to record the why of the event. This information will help you in the future you will confidently say hi to them the next time you meet event at a shopping mall.

2. Remember to Call or E-mail

These are the most professional ways to communicate in the business world. Unless you have already established a prior relationship with this person, do not send a message and even worst; do not write a WhatsApp message. This is unprofessional. Make a call or write an email. This is a wonderful way to establish a professional relationship. Never assume that the person you met in the networking event will always remember you. Business people attend so many functions and exchanging of the cards is a norm.

When you call or email them, remember to give them a reminder of who you are and where you met and the brief interaction you had. This grasps their attention and this is how they remember you. That way you have established a common ground to kick-start your professional relationship.

3. Share mutually benefiting Content

When you have established a professional starting point in this relationship, remember this will last only if both of you are to benefit. No business person wants to be in an engagement that they are not finding value.

On your end, ensure that you constantly share information that your new network finds useful. This in a way will help them see that you intend to assist them develop without expecting something in return. This you agree with me is a rare gesture that also creates a very powerful impression.

This first impression is what you should optimize on. Remember, they will remember you by the first impression they have of you even 20 years down the line.

4. Connect on Social Media

You have established links with this business person. You already have shared contacts and developed a common area of interest. With the popularity of social media, even your ‘friend’ business person is on social media.

There might be a blog that would be of value to them. Be generous to share with them Then, the relationship continues to be benefiting and of value. This could be blogs that interest them or even other social functions that they might find useful for their own growth.

The most important site at this level is the LinkedIn. Take a look at their professional background and see how you can further engage.

In all this, remember not to step into their space. Engage them on social media sites but remember to keep it professional.

Winding Up

You will not stop attending the business networking events. In fact they will increase and you will need to be there to keep the network growing.

Do not continue making the same mistakes of pilling the business cards in a dusty corner. Make value out of them. There is so much your business can harvest if these networks established via business cards are harnessed.

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