Keeping in touch with clients and prospects is crucial. Twenty years ago, sales people would make notes about people’s hobbies and family on the back of business cards. Now, with social media it’s so easy to keep in touch and stay top of mind.
I use Facebook and Twitter Lists to keep up on client’s and prospect’s personal life and interest.
Here’s my little Keep-in-Touch formula.
Before reaching out to a prospect, I look at their Facebook profile put them on a Twitter List.
I look at their Facebook profile to see what commonalities we have personally. Do they have kids? Did we go to the same school? Did we live in the same city? Do we like similar music? Do we have similar hobbies? When I send an initial email, I make sure that I open the with the sentence about our commonality to warm it up and start building an authentic connection with them.
Twitter Lists have been so amazing for opening doors to people I wouldn’t otherwise be able to have direct conversation with. Once the prospect or client is on my Twitter List, I look for was to jump into their conversation. It might be professional or personal but the goal is to get my name in front of them and to start a relationship. After we’ve had a few conversations on Twitter and I think that this person would recognize my name in an email, I send that email. In the first sentence I always reference our conversation on Twitter to remind them just in case. This is the exact formula I used to connect with an editor for HGTV and how I landed a spot on HGTV.com!
As a keep in touch (and stay top of mind) technique, I friend them on Facebook and look for ways to have authentic conversations. I look for things I can give them. Do they have a question that I can answer? Are they looking for an introduction to someone I know? Then, I look for ways to celebrate their life and successes, by congratulating them on product launches, big sales boosts, speaking engagements and even personal things like kid’s birthdays, their birthday and anniversary, family vacations and even the little things like making Christmas cookies.
I bet there are a lot of great things you do to keep in touch. Add one below!