As a parent of two home-learning daughters and at the helm of a company trying to navigate the turbulence of the past two years, I’m the last person you might expect to have something positive to say about the pandemic. Yet here we are.

If there was one good thing that came out of COVID-19, it was that people had time to talk. I’ve posted before about how networking and building partnerships didn’t come naturally for me. Even though nearly 100% of our work has come through referrals, I had to train myself to reach out to people regularly.

Suddenly, people who may have been too high up the ladder to carve out a block of time before could find a few minutes to chat with a small agency.

When the virus came on the scene, I actually found that creating and nurturing partnerships got easier. I wasn’t getting on a plane to check in quarterly with clients across the US. We didn’t need to sync schedules to see when we could sit down for a meal. Suddenly, people who may have been too high up the ladder to carve out a block of time before could find a few minutes to chat with a small agency.

And when we get on a Zoom or Teams call, it’s just two people talking and laughing about our dogs misbehaving in the background. There’s nothing high-powered or high-pressure about it, although I do try to keep a few things in mind. I always:

• Stay short and casual. We’re seeing how we jive and how everyone is holding up, not trying to close a new piece of business every time we say hello.
• Try to be a good date. I ask a lot of questions, rather than talking about myself. I want to hear what’s happening in people’s industries, companies and lives.
• Make introductions when I can. In a business that relies on partnerships, I’m thrilled when I can put other people together, even when it doesn’t directly involve FATFREE. It’s a great feeling, and great karma.
• Keep it going via LinkedIn and email. I follow up with people all the time, just to see what they’re up to and stay engaged.

As a result of this outreach, the last two years have reopened doors to past contacts and allowed us to grow our network in a bigger way than ever before. And not only has it kept FATFREE on people’s radars, it’s helped me stay connected as well.

When you’re looking for a marketing partner, or a partner in helping you better meet your clients’ objectives, drop us a note. We’d love to talk about it