Hello all,
Long time MT listener, first time poster.
I'd like to ask for guidance on what to actually put in the Quarterly "keep in touch" e-mails recommended by MT. I write them faithfully, but I feel that what I write is very awkward.
My subject line is usually something like "Checking in" and my intro usually goes "I hope you're doing well. It's been a while since we talked." I follow that with a more specific question or two about them and close with "Anyways, hope all is well." If it's someone in the area, I also bring up meeting for lunch/coffee.
I know that writing these is better than not writing anything, but they just feel so poorly-worded. How do you all phrase your keep in touch e-mails?
Thanks,
-DB
Look for a special occasion
I am sending by far not enough of these E-mails, but I do find that it is a lot easier if you carefully look for reasons to contact people in your network. If their business or company are in the news, or you hear something about the area where they live, this can be a good starter for any message. If you find something potentially of someones interest in the print press, send it to them! If they change anything on their LinkedIn profile, that is a conversation starter too!
If you can add value for the other person
Remember that one of the key tenets in networking is that in building and maintaining your network, don't look for what others can do for you, look for what you can do for others. When you are sending out your “keep in touch” e-mails look for what you can include that has the potential to add value to the other party. It could be, as Rob mentioned above, an interesting article, a link to a thought provoking blog, video, podcast (perhaps Manager Tools or Career Tools) on the web, an invite to a networking opportunity or maybe an introduction to someone from your network who would be a valuable contact for them. Any of these things can be of some value to the person you are reaching out to and can leave a lasting impression in their mind of you as someone who constantly adds value. A few e-mails like this and tehy start lookign forward to hearing from you and may even start to reach out to you. As Mark mentioned in the “How To Build A Network” podcast it’s not necessary to send an article but I find it makes a nice “ice-breaker”. Think about something along the lines of one I sent the other day;
Steve;
It’s been a while since we last spoke. I hope all is well with you.
I ran across an article the other day regarding how to maintain PDUs for PMP certification for free and thought of you. I hope you find this link interesting and useful, link inserted here.
If you are going to be in my area let me know and we can arrange to get together for a coffee, or even lunch if you have the time, and catch up.
Respectfully,
Steve Simmons
CGEIT, CISA, CISM, CISSP
Hey Steve, I have a friend
Hey Steve,
I have a friend who just obtained his PMP cert. Could you pass along that link? I wouldn't mind pushing that his way.
Thanks so much,
~12string~
12string; Here you go;
12string;
Here you go; http://www.examiner.com/x-36104-Miami-Project-Management-Examiner~y2010m4d3-How-to-Earn-60-PDUs-and-more-for-FREE-towards-your-PMP-Certification. I found this when I went to check out a link that was left in one of the forums regarding free PMP test questions. I passed that onto another contact who has his PMP exam coming up shortly.
Steve Simmons
CGEIT, CISA, CISM, CISSP
That thing reminded me of [you|last meeting|last project]
Hi Jon,
hope these lines find you well. I was reminded of our lastt project together today as ......
Last week i had to deal with x. How do you think about x these days?
kind regard
Thanks
Everyone,
Thank you for the advice and examples. Searching for an ice breaker (article, something I was reminded of, etc) takes slightly more work, but I can see that it's much more effective than the e-mails I had been sending. I appreciate you taking the time to provide your thoughts.
-DB