I just gave my “The Power of Networking” talk at a breakfast meeting. One of the things they had asked for in the talk was how to manage networking in an everyday situation. One of the things I said was rather than email the person, pick up the phone or even better, walk over and see them.
Of course, this is only possible if it’s within a realistic distance. However, sometimes it is worth the effort. One of the examples I give in my talk is that when I was working in the bank, a team that we worked closely with would come and speak to us every Monday morning. They traveled about 30 minutes to do this and would walk the floor, meeting team after team. They would tell us about what was happening in the market and also give us an update on the products.
This was a regular occurrence so we got to know the team very well, to the point where we could easily pick up the phone to them and ask questions. They put the effort in and it paid off on both sides.
Where can you contribute to your clients in a regular fashion? Can you provide training, a Q&A session or a meetup? Remember, it’s also about the consistency too – regularity pays off.