So, you attend IFMA, BOMA, and Chamber Meetings.  This is your way of networking and staying connected.  Great start, but just a start.  Think of your connections as seeds you’ve planted in a garden.  To grow and bear fruit, you have to water, fertilize, and prune.  Right?

Once upon a time, this was not an easy task.  Time was the enemy.  Time to visit, call, and otherwise stay in touch.  Well, that was then, this is now.  With today’s technology, it is ever so much easier.  Blackberrys and IPhones store ten file cabinets full of names, numbers, birthdates and so on.  Sites like Linked In offer more opportunities to connect.  Emails are easy to send. 

The trick is to not abuse this wonderful technology.  How many of us have received the "Good Luck" email that must be passed on to 20 contacts or something dire will happen?  Have you ever thought, as I have, that I must not be very important to that sender or they wouldn’t have sent it to me giving me the burden of having to piss off 20 of my friends??  Not a good way to make friends and influence people.  If you don’t mind therse chain emails…OK.  But, if you do,  vow never to pass these things on.  They are a burden not an opportunity.  Same with the cutesy bunnies hopping all over the page.  I’ve gotten some that are pages and pages long.  Not a productive use of time.  Bottom line?  Emails have become so pervasive, they are now, invasive as well.  Choose carefully the way you stay in touch.  An example of one great way is that if you know the recipient has an interest in, say, Green Roofs, sending a link to a good Green Roof article shows interest, caring, and a knowledge of them personally.  Maybe they love their garden.  An informative, short piece about your area’s newest bulbs would be appreciated.  You get the idea.  Keep it relevant and keep it short.

Connecting in smart ways is a major positive.  The wrong way is bad.  Think it through and follow up.  Good Hunting.