Whether we use online ‘social’ networks or we focus on the more traditional communication methods, we know we have to ‘keep in touch’.

If we don’t do this we will be forgotten. When I was younger I used to think that my sparkling personality, wit and conversation would be sufficient to ensure that I would be remembered. Even if I had been right, the fact is that anyone who had met me had probably also met dozens of other people. In time any positive memory of me would be replaced by more recent memories of newer acquaintances.

So what can we do to keep in touch with our contacts/network?

The easy solution – and one I adopt – is to maintain a database of our contacts. At it’s simplest this will be a list on our phone or computer. More sophisticated approaches involve more sophisticated Customer Realtionship Management (CRM) system.

Emails that get through spam filters and which don’t bounce MAY be read by the recipient. Personally addressed emails rather than newsletters are likely to be more successful. If they are read (and that’s a big ‘if’) such emails serve to remind the recipient that we exist. However, the downside of sending emails is that they rarely engage the recipient in conversation. The easiest way to do this is by the good old telephone!

Easy to say  of course. So why do so many of us avoid picking up the phone when we know we could. Could some reasons include worrying:

• Who shall I call first?
• It’s a while since we last spoke, will he/she remember me?
• They might be too busy to speak to me now.
• They might not want to speak to me at all.
• I can’t think of a good solid reason to call, beyond ‘How are you?’

If you really are an ambitious professional then whenever you have a genuine business related “reason to call” I’ll bet that a lot of these concerns simply evaporate.

If you can’t think of any genuine reasons yourself let me offer some suggestions:

• “I’m just calling to touch base and see how you’re doing as it’s been a while since we last spoke. How’s business?”
• “I’ve just seen something on the web that I thought you might find of interest”
• “I’ve just read something in [magazine/newspaper] that reminded me of you “
• “May I ask for your advice about something ….”
• “We’re thinking of arranging a reception/party for [selected/ all] contacts and I thought you might have some useful tips”
• “I’m looking for ….. who do you know who …..?”
• “It’s a while since we’ve spoken and I didn’t just want to email you out of the blue.”
• “Have you seen the article about xyz published in ABC? Would you like a copy?”
• “I would like to test out something with you … have you got a few minutes?”
• “Please can I bounce a few ideas off you with a view to exploring who else I should be talking to?”
• “I found our last conversation really valuable; I wanted to thank you again and to let you know what happened ….”
• “I’m calling for no particular reason at all. You just came into my mind and I thought we should catch up …” (works better than you might think – especially as it’s genuine.)

All of the above are just “openers”. You can then continue with:

• “How have things developed with …..?
• “I’m putting together our budgets for rest of the year. Rather than rely on guess work I thought I’d be upfront and ask what the likelihood was that you’ll be needing us?”
• “While we’re talking, what are going to be the key issues / projects for you this year?” etc.

It’s probably best to avoid specifically asking for work but you can end the conversation with something like: “Well, it’s been good talking with you again.  Let’s keep in touch, and if there’s anything you ever think I might be able to help you with, don’t hesitate to give me a call.” You must ensure that you don’t sound desperate – even if you are!

The purpose of your call is to keep in touch and  to serve your clients, ex-clients and contacts better.  You’ll be surprised how many ex-clients will give you some more work – and so will your clients and contacts.

One very good discipline is to set yourself a target of say ten KIT (Keep In Touch) calls a week – that’s just 2 a day . Then count down how many you have left to make. That way the total/target keeps getting smaller and this can help your motivation.