After you "tweet", "friend", "link", email, or mail to reconnect with an old client, having some conversation initiators can make the next step - "The Call" much easier. Here are five tried approaches that have worked people. When it’s time to pick up the phone and talk to your contact try these words. Don’t fake it, be sincere.
- "I was pleased to reconnect with you via LinkedIn; it made me realise that we haven’t talked in a while. How are you?" - if they accepted your invitation to join your network, they are now anticipating your call. Don’t let them down!
- "I just reconnected with (person’s name that you both know) and realised that we haven’t talked in a while. How are things going for you?" - this is a great reason to call lots of contacts from a past client organisation who all worked together at one time!
- "I just read an article on your firm in (publication) and thought of you. (Elaborate a bit on the article)... Just wanted to touch base to say hello and see how you were doing." - if you read the business press, you know you have thought about individuals from your past when you read articles about their companies, so it’s something you’ve kept to yourself but now you can share!
- "I’m going to the (organisation) conference in May and was wondering if you planned on attending. I thought it might be nice to reconnect with you there for lunch. Do you plan on going?" - This is one of the best because you are being considerate and generous!
- "I’m considering writing an article on (topic) and thought of you because I knew you would be a great person to give me a valuable perspective on it. Could I trouble you to arrange a call to get your point of view on (topic)?" - For those of you who have thought about publishing an article, this approach is excellent because people are flattered that you think of them to give you advice. You can collect your research, get valuable market insights and reconnect with an old client!
