Ep. 3 Hey, did you follow up?
Hey nice to meet you! I’m Desiree Jones or Dez for Short and welcome to the podcast that teaches you how to establish your network and maintain relationships both on and off your screen.
Today’s Topic? Hey, did you follow up?
Following up is hard because there’s a lot that goes into following up with someone, especially if this is someone new. It requires persistence and commitment, and follow through.
BOOK OF THE DAY!
Reading is fundamental, and it’s very important to continue to make it a habit. If you prefer audio books that’s fine, but something about the touch of a book and the flip of a page just brings solitude to the mind. So with that, and in light of Black History month today’s book of the day is:
HBCUNomics: A Story of the Power of Black College Students, Economic Self-Sufficiency and Financial Freedom by Jamerus Payton.
I chose this book because as an HBCU graduate myself it’s definitely relatable but it also demonstrates the importance of supporting the youth and building financial habits and life hacks to prepare you for the world outside of school.
Hey did you follow up?
Now when it comes to networking, it’s not just about establishing relationships. It’s about MAINTAINING relationships. And the key to maintaining the relationship is FOLLOWING UP with the people you previously connected with. If you can’t follow up, you’re placing yourself at a disadvantage. You can’t grow or maintain your network without following up with people to finish what you intended on starting.
The question now is, how do you follow up?
There’s so many ways but today we’re going to break down the scheduling of it all.
So Let’s talk about Scheduling a Follow Up:
When you want to follow up with someone THAT MEANS YOU HAVE TO TAKE TIME TO SCHEDULE THE DETAILS. It’s easy to say what you want to do, compared to the reality of what it actually takes to get something done. Scheduling a Follow Up is about being as specific and detailed as possible.
These are the top 4 important things to remember to mention when scheduling a follow up.
The Day, The Time, The Location, & Your Schedule.
One more time - The Day, The Time, The Location, & Your Schedule.
Picking The Day - remember, you have a life. If they decide on a day that doesn’t work for you, let them know that day doesn’t work for you. It’s okay to be unavailable.
The Time: If you know you don’t wake up earlier than 10am, don’t agree to a 6am meeting. If 6am is the only option, see if you can change to another day where a time that works for you is more suitable.
IMPORTANT FACTOR:
Make sure you know the time zone both you and the person you’re connecting with are on.
Make sure that the person you’re connecting with is aware as well.
Having a meeting at 11am Eastern Time is 10am Central Time. Having an 11am meeting in London Time is 6am Eastern Time.
The Location: Where do you want to follow up? (Location)
When it comes to where to follow up with someone, it all just depends on how far you are away and how comfortable the both of you are to connect in person.
Schedule:
Schedule is last because this is where you add your follow up. You have to remember to add your follow up to your schedule. Write it in your planner, add it to your phone, PUT IT SOMEWHERE YOU CAN SEE IT. The saying, out of sight, out of mind is real. If you don’t see that you have something coming up, it’s that much easier for you to forget.
Then it all went left: So this is a segment where I talk about a situation that went totally terrible but led to the right path.
I remember one time while still on my job hunt, I spent the last of my money taking a lyft to connect with someone at a lounge studio only for them to not show up again. Talk about a curve.
What did you learn?
This taught me the importance of consistency. Not everyone is consistent with following through and I had to be mindful of who I decided to give my time too. Also, if they can't follow up on a phone call, the likelihood of you meeting them in person is slim to nothing especially if this is the first time meeting them.
Overall, I reached back out to ask what happened and they asked to reschedule, for a 3rd time. To me, it wasn’t worth it, so I just let it go. If a person you haven’t met before keeps rescheduling, it’s up to you to decide if you want to keep rescheduling. But in most cases, there’s a continuous need to keep rescheduling, then connecting was never that much of a priority for them to to begin with. If it’s worthit reschedule again, if not, just let it go.
100 Commandments of Confidence
Though shalt always be prepared. Preparation time, is never wasted time.
Confidence is knowing what you know and showing that you know what you know.
Thou shalt always be prepared.
Follow Up Hack
Your follow up hack for today is to review your calendar. Do you have any meetings coming up? Have you written them down somewhere? And does the person who you have the meeting with remember as well? If you’re not sure, reach out ahead of time to make sure.
Outro:
If this resonated with you, let us know! Give us a review, share this with your friends. Make sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other platforms. I hope these takeaways take you to greatness. It was nice meeting you, thank you for listening and shine bright.