Have you ever found yourself in a situation, where you had a great conversation with someone during a networking event and then, 2 days later, you are staring at the name on your phone or at a business card in your hand and wondering: “who on earth is that?”.
To avoid solving riddles like that, make sure you’re taking notes. Don’t worry, it is not rude to scribble away while somebody is talking. After all, you are not writing every single word they say. You are just fixing a few important points.
When you take notes it is important that your notes are
- Readable;
- Clear and to the point;
- Help you remember the person, place of meeting, topic of discussion.
A lot of people write straight on the business card hoping to transfer the info to some sort of system. But be honest. How many business cards are lying around your desk in a somewhat orderly fashion? Dozens? If you are looking for a time to switch the new way to take notes, 21st century is a great time!
There are many ways to take notes and not lose them. Here are some examples:
- Evernote. Great note app that synchronizes across the platform. You can type up a note on your phone and then see it on the computer. Love it! It is perfect for an occasion when you ran into someone in an elevator and you had a great talk. Pause and take a note of it
- Google Sheets. They don’t need a special introduction. Works great – you can make one sheet for networking and every time you meet someone you add them to the list. Besides the name and phone number you can have the columns of where you have met the person, what have you talked about or if you have set up the next step with a deadline.
The biggest issue with these 2 ways is that you constantly have to move the notes to your phone book or CRM. Maybe you can look into imputing notes straight there.
- CRM apps. This will work if you are using a CRM system that has an app. And if you don’t mind having your work on your phone. You can download a CRM and plug your contacts straight into it. There is typically a note field for every contact.
- 100AM. This is the best option. You can scan the business card into the phone book with a few clicks. Each contact has a very convenient note field that you can fill up with the important info. Bonus – people will surely ask you about it, hence, more new connections. And also you can set to-dos and link them with your calendar. This is super convenient and useful!
When it comes to notes, no matter what way you are taking them, practice the rule of urgency. The faster you save the notes to a proper place the better.
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- Unlimitedly scan paper business cards
- Sync contacts with phone’s address book
- Add notes to contacts
- Set To-Dos and sync them with calendar