How to Build and Manage Your Personal Network Using the Principles of Customer Relationship Management
One of the things that I was least prepared for when I joined Startup Institute (SI) was how I would be able to build and manage a new network. The staff at SI told me that I would be engaging with a large network, but I underestimated the amount of time and energy that it takes to develop and build my own.
Prior to moving to Boston and joining Startup Insitute, I was able to get away with just remembering who I needed to connect with or by looking over emails for a quick reminder. By the end of week one at SI, I quickly recognized how inefficient that methodology was.
Thankfully, I started to learn about one of the most powerful tools in sales; Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Around week 3 I decided to apply the concepts of CRM in my approach to building my network. I haven’t looked back.
Before I talk about how I am using this tool to manage my network, I’ll do a quick overview of what a CRM tool is.
As Wikipedia defines it, “CRM is an approach to managing a company’s interaction with current and future customers.” I think of this tool as a memory bank that you can tap into when you need to recall something about a specific customer. So whether you spoke to that person a week ago or a year ago, you’ll be able to trigger that memory with your CRM!
There is a lot more to that goes into managing relationships with your customers, but now you have an adequate understanding so that I can talk about how I have been utilizing it to manage my network.
I recently opened up a HubSpot account and am utilizing their free CRM tool to manage my new network. There are actually dozens of CRM tools available from a variety of providers like SalesForce, PipeDrive, Nutshell, and Yesware. I ended up with HubSpot because:
- It was relatively intuitive
- It was free
- I needed to pick something and get started
Here is the step-by-step process that I have been using to manage my network for SI. Because my bandwidth is limited, I do this once I have identified a person with whom I would like to connect further.
- Obtain business card or at minimum first name, last name, and email
- Add on LinkedIn
- Add to CRM tool
- In CRM tool use 3x3 method (huge thanks to Tom Stearns from Stearns Marketing for teaching us this):
- In 3 minutes find 3 potential talking points or information that you find important to know about the person: alma matter, previous roles, any blogs written, note on how we met, etc…
5. Add appropriate labels
- Labels I add are: current position, current company, twitter handle. You can create and customize this section as you see fit.
6. Link emails
- Make sure to link these emails with my HubSpot account so that I can keep an accurate history of my communication.
- Protip: I can also schedule meetings directly through the CRM!
7. Update information as needed and manage the relationship status as you turn a nurturing relationship status into an acquaintance, a person in your network, a mentor, or a friend.
Boom! That’s pretty much it. With this process, I have been able to keep much better track of the new network I’ve been building, and I know it will be extremely useful as time goes on. It’s also extremely helpful at being able to visually see the network that I am building.
I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to remember that this is just a tool. It will not magically create your network nor maintain it. You’ll have to put in the daily effort to keep it up-to-date and adjust things as needed.
I’m curious though, how do you keep track of your network?
Thanks for reading!