I have to admit, I can be bad at following up after a networking event. Kind of dumb really. I invested, at the very least, the time and gas to go there, but don't follow up. Now sure, I may have been the most interesting person there, but probably not! It's very likely I'll have made some connections - now what? File those cards and wait for the phone to ring, right? Wrong! Now it's time to start work.

Firstly, you should have jotted some notes on the cards you received so you can follow up intelligently. It doesn't make a good impression if you get their spouse's name wrong in your follow-up. So, secretly, write notes on the backs of their cards so you can accurately remember details.

Prior to the event, plan your follow-up. Diarize your follow-up schedule so you'll have no excuse to procrastinate in taking action. Your follow-up period should be no more than a week for your first contact. Start off with a simple email. Thank them for their time and try to find something interesting to share with them. It could be a white paper, or an article which is relevant to them.

Depending

Ever had this situation... You meet a prospect, who we'll call (very novel!!), John, and it seems your pitch went well. Then you ring back a few days later and they say, "Yeah, I'm probably going to sign with another company later today." What's your response? "Ummm, OK, thanks for the opportunity to quote anyway." Do you think there's a better response?

Let's stop and think. They HAVEN'T signed yet. In fact, from their response, they may not be totally sold on "the other company". They haven't signed yet, and their use of "probably" likely means they're resigned to choosing that company because it's the best the found, not necessarily THE best. So, here's how you should answer this. It's all done with questions.

1. "Hey John. Is it OK if I ask a few questions?" Invariably, unless you did a really bad pitch, they'll say yes.

2. Let's explore fit. "So, John, why did you decide to go with the other company? What was your buying criteria?"

3. Next, find out about functionality. "John, did the other company's offering include everything you needed, or were there some things missing?"

4. Then a big one - cost. "Tell me about

When is a referral not a referral? When it's a lead, a lead being slightly more than a cold call. At worst, a referral should be a warm call, and, if we, the referral giver, do our job right, it should be a hot call. Our referral should be straining at the leash desperate to buy from our trusted source. But how often do we get those sort of referrals? Here are 5 levels of referrals.

1. Name, rank and serial number. This probably constitutes most referrals given in BNI. You give the contact details, maybe some details of the project, and perhaps remember to mention that "Joe" will be contacting them. Temperature 100 degrees.

2. Here's a brochure. In addition to #1, you give the referral some marketing material. Temperature 110 degrees.

3. He/she does amazing work. OK, you're starting to cultivate the referral now. You share a strong written or verbal testimonial with the referral - what they did for you and how it affected you. Temperature 160 degrees

4. Let me set up a meeting. At this level you're really starting to cook. You call your source while you're with the referral and arrange a meeting between