April 23, 2012

Edition 16: Weekly Tips for Connecting with your Contacts

1. Focus on Quality, not Quantity.

You may not be able to invest in maintaining a relationship with every single person you meet. Building your network doesn't mean involving every person you've met, but maintaining those that are more important than others. Follow up with anyone who you may have a quality relationship with, but don't overwhelm yourself trying to keep up with too many people.

(Source: Money Crashers)

2. Life Balance

A healthy balance between work, business, social, entertainment, etc. promotes and gives off a feeling of well-being, which can be very beneficial for building relationships and for networking. With a balanced lifestyle, you will be able to engage and respond in lots of ways with lots of people by projecting confidence, and being relaxed as well. By being organized, you will be able to have more time to reconnect with those who were once very important to you, and create a valuable relationship you once had.

(Source: Business Networking)

3. Charity Events

Charity events are a great way to meet new people, and network with even strangers, who are all gathered for a common interest. Since these events provide an opportunity to gather for a shared interest, it's a great place to expand you network, and take interest in those that would be most valuable to you. You can make some "charity buddies" for future events! :)

(Source: U.S. News)