One of the challenges with growing a large network is remembering who everyone is and how you know them. I’ve written about nurturing your network and checking in with people periodically so that they remain a valuable connection. I admit this is a challenge when your network grows to over 600 contacts in LinkedIn like mine.
I learned a new tip recently from leadership coach Kristi Royse (KLR Consulting http://www.klrconsulting.com/) that I want to share in hopes that it will help you as much as it has me. When I shared with Kristi that I can’t always remember who people are that I’m linked to or how I met them, she suggested that I use the “notes” field in LinkedIn when I add a new contact. I admitted that I didn’t even know there was a notes field and checked it out as soon as I got back to my desk. Sure enough, each contact record has one.
I’ve started to use this field when I add new contacts to remind myself where I met them (a conference, client, or introduction through a friend). What a great addition this has been for my network that is outside of my business CRM tool.
Hopefully whatever tool you use to manage your connections has a similar notes field that will help you capture this useful information.
Hi you! I really enjoy reading your blog, even though I am out of the business world I still get some great ideas. Question...is there a difference between an audio blog and a podcast? Not a zen queston, it is real, I am taking a class and thought I was podcasting but maybe not...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great tip. I have just updated my contacts to reflect how/where/when I know someone if it is not obvious. Hopefully, this will save on some embarrassment later :)
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