Tips to Keep Your Network Alive

Reach out to one contact per day. Rather than thinking WIIFM (what’s in it for me), what can you do to help your contacts? What value can you bring to your network contacts? Not sure? Ask! And, what are some activities you can do to keep your network alive? Try out the following:

·         Schedule coffee or lunch

·        Find natural touch points, e.g., birthday or holiday

·         Email a link to an article or website they find of interest

·         Create a status update on LinkedIn

·         “Like” or comment on a contact’s status update

·         Endorse a contact on LinkedIn

·        Write a recommendation for a contact on LinkedIn

·         Post or respond to a question for a group on LinkedIn

·         Invite a contact to join you at an upcoming conference

·         Connect someone to another person

Add value to you contacts. When you meet someone new, find out what they could use help with. If you know someone in your network that can help a new connection with a problem, go ahead and provide an introduction.  

Create a networking fund. Automatically set aside a small amount of money that will pay for coffees, lunches, etc.