home business hints

FOLLOW UP, PERIOD.

Some home business hints may seem obvious, like how crucial it is to follow up with people, but unfortunately most people don’t bother. Common courtesy has fallen out of fashion so it takes something extra to bring it back.

I’ve heard it said that 95% of people don’t follow up. In my experience, it’s been more like 99% -- and I’m the 1% who actually bothers to send individual emails or hand-written notes after meeting people.

One time I went to a breakfast networking event and came home with about eight business cards from people I had talked to. Absolutely none of them were going to do business with me – nor I with them – but I intended to email each of them, sending my regards and letting them know it was nice meeting them.

I happened to be swamped with work for a few days afterwards so I didn’t get to my follow-ups until the following week. (I usually follow up the very same day or at least within the first 24 hours.)

Well guess what? In the week following that event, I didn’t receive a single correspondence from any of those people – and I doubt that I ever would have.

I emailed each one of them nonetheless, with no expectation of even seeing them again. Believe it or not, only a few of them even extended the courtesy of responding to me!

Following up can be as simple as a two-line email, saying, “It was great meeting you at the XYZ event. Looking forward to crossing paths with you again in the future. Best of luck with your business.”

The same goes for business meetings and new customer relationships. Acknowledge people for their time, for their purchase of your products, for whatever it is.

Following up on the seemingly “little” things is reflective of who you are as a business owner and how you conduct your business. There is a thorough-ness about it and it shows respect for other people. Rarely do we feel “taken care of” by those we do business with – so these are home business hints that will indeed make you more memorable.

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