Kevin Willett says this rule is the most important

The first rule of Networking is to always return phone calls and emails. Plain and simple. I have said it before, we are all busy, but should never be too busy for business. I had a friend recently who needed a service urgently. They called their contact and never got a call back. The contact claimed they meant to call, and it fell through the cracks. Now that person is out a source of revenue & a referral source, thus hurting their business.

How long does it take to reply to a text? To an Email? 30 seconds maybe? Even if you are super busy, you have thirty seconds to respond to someone and tell them that. If you cannot help someone out yourself, maybe go the extra mile and suggest someone else they can call. The client will respect you for that and it boosts your reputation and brand because you are putting your client ahead of yourself. If you are afraid you will lose business by referring them to someone else, you’d be surprised. Clients value your honesty and will still make you their first choice because of that. Not calling them back will cost you a lot more.

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Kevin Willett is the Author of One Connection How you can grow your business  (and change the world) one connection at a time. The business networking book is available on Amazon. Purchase One Connection on Amazon

Kevin is also the CEO of the Friends of Kevin Networking Group  and the New England B2B Networking Group. Please connect with him on social media to hear about his upcoming business networking events