Straightforward Communication Practices for “A-level” Networking & Career Building
This is a succinct, but highly informative post all about the specific techniques & email structures I use at my sales job & when helping my friends build their careers.
All of these methods are flexible and can be used in a variety of situations.
If you’re a person who wants to…
- build meaningful business relationships
- grow an audience
- sell at your company
…these tips will help you.
The Follow-up Game
“The Follow-up Game” is something we naturally do with our friends.
We call or email our friends up with the sole purpose of asking questions to see how they’re doing. Friends are loyal & accessible.
Effective network building communication is no different.
Following-up with your possible business partner, audience, or lead is the key to remaining accessible in the memory of whom you’re trying to have a relationship with.
“The Follow-up Game”, is a game of reminding people you exist, but is also just as must about reminding people that you know they exist.
I recommend tracking your relationships. Take notes on who you meet, what they do, and what they need. And track the last time you spoke with them.
In my sales position we have software that does this auto-magically, but if that’s not the case for you, try out note-taking software (w/ reminders), or keep notecards handy.
Undoubtedly, its critical to remind yourself to follow-up with your network relationships.
It can be easy to jot someone’s name down with a few notes.
By remembering details and reaching out, people will remember and reach out to you.
Channels
There are various “channels” we can leverage to communicate with people.
The primary ones are phone & email, but you can reach out on any social media direct message or another form of communication (smoke signals anyone?)
Remember, some people respond better to different types of communication, so use your intuition to determine which one someone may seem more responsive to.
Super Flexible Networking Email Script
This is what the order of your communication should generally always look like:
- Say hello! (with their name)
- Make what you are saying relevant
- Give a reason for reaching out
- CTA (call to action) — Keep it open-ended.
In Practice
Below is a simple email script if you want to get to know someone new and ask them to do something:
“Hi [name],
I saw you were [relevant evidence of them showing interest in something].
The reason I’m reaching out is because [why you’re calling].
[CTA]
Cheers,
[your name]”
Relatable Reasons
You can morph this type of email into almost any scenario. The most important things are your reason(s) for reaching out & relatability.
The “reason” provides a reason for the conversation to keep going. If you make it as relevant as possible, they’re more likely to stick around.
Google does a similar thing with their targeted ads. If you look up dog food, you might start seeing dog food ads later. Dog food is relevant.
You should be the best human version of a targeted ads algorithm you can be.
Small Important Details
Saying “because” makes people listen more (unconsciously). People look-out for a reason why someone is acting differently. Just saying the word “because” triggers a fulfilling of the need for a reason, even if the reason itself doesn’t make much sense.
Stay curious about the person. Genuine curiosity expressed through words keeps people listening.
CTA (Call to Action)
Arguably, the most important part, the CTA is your ticket to getting someone to do something for you.
Whether the CTA is to subscribe, check out a website, or meet with someone, this “ask” is what guides that person to the next action like the bumper-bars at a bowling alley.
The key is to be subtle enough that people don’t get turned-off, but not so subtle that people don’t know what to do.
Last Thoughts
To keep this page as a reminder for yourself, you can favorite it with the little star ⭐ in the right hand corner of your browser.
Here’s a short refresher:
- Follow-up consistently
- Use the proper channels
- Be relatable & reasonable
- Provide a CTA
I hope this helps, and if you’d like to see more of my content, subscribe to the Daily Idea for free or stick around and follow my Medium.
You can network with me on either or both! :)
