Ep. 91: The Power of the Follow Up

Unlock the secrets to turning event attendees into loyal clients with Jen Anderson, a seasoned professional wingwoman and online business manager. Jen shares her proven follow-up strategies that guarantee meaningful connections and increased sales. Learn how she masterfully categorizes contacts into potential clients, power partners, and industry peers, and efficiently uses LinkedIn to establish initial connections. Jen’s practical advice on scheduling 30-minute one-on-one meetings enables you to build deeper relationships and assess mutual fit, making this episode a goldmine for anyone keen on boosting their event-based marketing efforts.

In this episode, we delve into the art of nurturing post-event connections to foster long-term business relationships. Discover the importance of expressing gratitude to attendees, seeking their feedback, and continuously improving their experience. We'll explore how to balance automated and personalized follow-ups through emails, LinkedIn messages, and offering valuable resources. By focusing on the "know, like, and trust" factor, you'll gain actionable insights on building trust and eventually winning business referrals. Don't miss out on this comprehensive guide to cultivating successful business relationships after events.

Join my events community for FREE monthly events.

I offer free events each month to help you master your business's growth through marketing, sales, systems, and offer strategy.

Join the community here!

Chapters

• 0:48 Powerful Event Follow-Up Strategies
• 10:53 Building Post-Event Connection Strategies

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:48

Hey, hey, hey. This is Sarah Noelle Block and you are listening to Tiny Marketing. This is the Uncut Summer Series, where you are getting the raw, unfiltered, unedited recordings from our interviews, webinars and workshops. So sit back, relax and enjoy the ridiculousness. Hello, it is so good to be back and share my next Uncut Summer Series episode. This is my conversation with Jen Anderson, who is a professional wingwoman and just an amazing warm-heart person. If you follow me there, you've seen a lot of chitty chat between me and her in the comment section of each other's posts, but Jen in this episode, shared some gold about how to follow up after an event to start closing sales, and she kills it at this. So if you have events in your marketing strategy which I highly recommend, it is such a great time-sensitive, active lead generator then you'll want to listen to this episode so you can learn how to better convert those event attendees to sales. So enjoy.

Speaker 2: 2:06

I am Jen Anderson. I am a professional wingwoman, which is also known as an online business manager, so I partner with entrepreneurs and solopreneurs to help them with strategy, accountability, sort of doing the back end collaboration piece of things when they don't have anybody to collaborate with. So that is my superpower.

Speaker 1: 2:30

Yeah, when you told me about that, I'm like I need a you.

Speaker 2: 2:34

that sounds so nice when you work alone, to have somebody that you can bounce ideas off of yeah, yeah, and then based on what we, what we're doing together, sometimes I take those ideas and run, sometimes I help them strategize it so they move forward. So there's all kinds of different ways that I can help, support and help them get some of those things done In addition to, you know, just sort of the strategy piece and then the planning and the project management part of things.

Speaker 1: 3:21

Yeah, we were talking about how you do that for one of your clients who relies pretty heavily on events to fill her pipeline, which is something we've been talking about on Tiny Marketing for months now. At this point, I had a call to action to have a lot of content on this for Q1. And well, the people rose to the challenge and I've had so many amazing guests on this, but we have not touched on what you are touching on, and that is how to maintain those relationships after, which is where so many people like it falls apart. There, because you get the cards, the event is so hard that you're like, ah, relief, I don't have to think about this anymore. But then nothing happens. You need to actually convert those leads. So tell me what is your process for that?

Speaker 2: 4:06

Yeah, so the power is in the follow-up. So the power is in the follow-up and reaching back to those relationships that you made in the fun of the event or the heat of the event. It's like, oh, I met all these great people and I'll come home and I'll tell my husband and you know, at first it was like wow. And then, like you just said, sarah, it's like you go and just don't kind of do anything with them. But it's like, you know, you met those people for a reason you connected at the event. Are they in an industry that you're interested in? Are they, you know, you can really kind of categorize these people like is it actually somebody that could be a client for me?

Speaker 2: 4:46

So then there's one way to maybe start that conversation. Is it somebody that could be a power partner that could help refer me to other people that might be a client for me? Or is it someone that is sort of in an industry or in a community that I'm a part of and we kind of want to just keep that relationship going, because you never know when, six months from now, they're going to say, oh hey, I do have somebody that would be a great client for you, or there's a project that I need some support with, and they automatically think of you so, um. So I think that's a big part of it is kind of figuring out where those, where those connections sort of, where they live right in your, in your brain or in your spreadsheet or in your crm or your system, um. So that's sort of the first step, and then reaching back out, whether that's on LinkedIn Usually, I mean, I start with LinkedIn because that's how I connect with people at the event.

Speaker 1: 5:44

That's how I pull up my LinkedIn.

Speaker 2: 5:46

Yeah, it's so easy, they make it so easy. It's like I pull up my phone, I get my little QR code and they scan me and it's like now we're best friends. So great, yeah. But then it just gives you an opportunity to go back and send them your meeting link and say, hey, let's you know, after the sort of frenzy of the event, let's have a 20 minute, 30 minute conversation, just one on one, over Zoom, and just tell each other a little bit more about one another. You know how did you start, where did you come from? And that gives you an opportunity to get that person's vibe and get to know them a little bit more and see if they're really the right fit for you. Or if you say, oh, I have somebody else in my network that would be a really good fit.

Speaker 1: 6:30

So I'll reiterate what you just said a little, a little recappy. So when you're at the event you pull up your LinkedIn and you put it on the QR code mode so they can just scan and go straight to your profile. So then you connect that way and then you follow up to have a one onone conversation, and I do mine in 15 minutes. I do like a power speed dating kind of connection call. How long did you say yours are?

Speaker 2: 7:05

I usually I'll say like 30 minutes, 30 minutes. 30 minutes is a good time to over over, yeah, yeah, I don't overbook my week um, but I'll take a couple here. You know what each week um, and get to know people that way, which is kind of nice, yeah and you do a vibe check, you see if they fall into one of three categories.

Speaker 1: 7:27

And that would be what. Could they be a client, could they be like a power referrer, or are they in the same industry? And maybe you guys can give each other business that doesn't make sense for the other person yeah, exactly now your client and it's me because oh, go ahead no, I was going to move on to a different topic. What were you going to say?

Speaker 2: 7:54

oh, I was just going to say you know, it's funny because, like, I've also had people that I've connected with after an event.

Speaker 1: 8:04

that will then lead me to someone else finding me on LinkedIn and saying, hey, we have 20 connections in common, and then they want to connect yes, this happens all the time or someone that you don't think would really be a good fit for a referral partner fall into any of those categories, turns out to introduce you to someone who leads you to one of those three categories. So these connections can just lead to the next, to the next. And now everyone says your network is your net worth, and it's true.

Speaker 2: 8:39

Isn't it? Yeah, exactly, Exactly so yeah. And I yeah, I heard one too with that difference between networking and not working is just one letter.

Speaker 1: 8:53

Yeah, and I did not realize how true that was until a really slow quarter I had. I was like, oh my, so this is what it feels like, and so I spent all of my time not working and just digging real deep into biz dev that quarter and the difference it made in my pipeline was nuts, like it does make all the difference in the world, like that's so old school. No, you need to do it it.

Speaker 2: 9:26

It's like, yeah, really it's so impactful. You know, I think people think that you know sort of those passive social media is great and you know your posts and all those kinds of things, but they're a little bit more passive when you're not, unless you. You know, comment, share, reach. You have to be interacting with those people, otherwise they're just reading a page and then you know.

Speaker 1: 9:50

Yeah, LinkedIn is a great channel to network. You could build these relationships straight on there too. When you're not at an actual event, it's like little watering holes. You can get in and meet people. I have two people in my DMs right now who just sent me their calendar links because I'm like let's hang out, let's do a one-on-one, and it happens all the time. So those people slipping into your DMs, it's beneficial for both of you. The thing that I wanted to move to was your client that you were mentioning also hosts a lot of events not just attending, but hosts a lot of events. So when attendees bend to one of them, what do you do next?

Speaker 2: 10:41

Great question. We do follow up with all of the attendees when they attend an event. We have a. We'll set up a sequence and do follow up email. You know. Thanks for coming to the event. First of all, you want to thank everybody for coming. They put their time and their effort and their energy into that and then ask them what you know. Do you have feedback? What could we do differently? What could we do? What could we elevate you do to elevate your experience? Because, what could we do to elevate your experience? Because the people that are attending are the people that know what they're looking for.

Speaker 2: 11:12

That is true, so let's ask them yeah, exactly, and then just kind of keeping again keeping that sort of like low connection together, like how can we support you with more information, how can we support you with you know, partnerships down the road? So kind of just making sure that you keep those people sort of nurtured in that sequence because they spent the time to come and be with you and so there was something there to begin with. You know, and you most likely made a connection with some or most or all of the people, hopefully all the people you know. It depends on the size of the event, but you know, really just making sure that you acknowledge that and continue to keep that relationship going is really super important.

Speaker 1: 12:00

Yeah, selling directly during that event. It's usually not going to happen, especially with high ticket services, which most of us that's what we're selling is a higher ticket service, and it takes a nurture sequence. It takes these connections to actually get people ready to buy. They're not going to be ready to buy, very like, 98% of the time from the event alone, so this sequence that you put them through afterwards makes a huge difference. Now, what have you seen has been a better success, doing an automated sequence or like a one-to-one sequence after an event.

Speaker 2: 12:52

You know, I kind of like the combination. To be honest, I like the automated because you want to make sure that you do reach everybody, but when people respond back or you have somebody that you did have a personal relationship with, that's a one-on-one. So even if it's just an email and you're not doing maybe you're not even offering a call, because you don't need that at the moment you're just taking the time to either the dm on linkedin hey, it was great to see you. Um, just that conversation, just chatting, getting to know a little bit more about one another. It was fun to spend time doing whatever. Xyz, um, y Z.

Speaker 2: 13:28

Hey, here's a resource that I mentioned, you know, giving them some more of your expertise so that they can get to know you a little bit better, and not necessarily selling them anything, but really that sort of that partnership where hey, here, remember that article I told you about. Here's a link to that. You know what we were talking about, like those kinds of things. Hey, there's another event I'm attending. Here's the link to attend. I hope I get to see you there, that kind of thing, and then down the road, sort of just keeping those things in mind and making sure that you share it with people. You know, that's how everybody gets to be a little bit elevated.

Speaker 1: 14:22

Yeah, I like that. It's more of a hybrid approach.

Speaker 2: 14:24

So like post-event.

Speaker 1: 14:24

You can have maybe your couple sequences, just like thanking them and asking for the feedback. If you have a recording of it you can connecting with them one-on-one on LinkedIn and sliding into the DMs. I like to also do like request, see if they want to do a one-on-one connection call via email and just like boomerang it back to me in case they didn't see it the first time. So exactly, and like yeah, automating manual.

Speaker 2: 14:55

Yeah, right, right, but yeah, that for a hybrid approach so that you're you're still getting the personal connection, because that's what really makes a difference. You know, it's the personal connection. I mean I told you when we met there I don't have a website. I've gotten all of my clients from referral, every person I've worked with. I know that blows my mind.

Speaker 2: 15:15

Yeah, I mean yeah, and it's just like that's a real thing, like people want to work with somebody that they know or somebody that they have some trust in, and you you have to be able to get the connection first before they're going to be able to have any of that. You know, when you work in corporate and you hire people, you know a million resumes come in, you have the benefit of an HR department and all these other people to sort of vet them. When you're an entrepreneur, a solopreneur, and this whole company is your baby, you want to work with somebody that you have a good vibe with, like I mentioned, and that you feel like you can trust and that you feel like you can understand a little bit about their expertise and their way of delivering.

Speaker 1: 16:00

You know, yes, that is exactly right. It's that no, like trust factor, like, okay, I feel like I know you after an event and I know what your personality is like because I chatted with you at that event. And then trust comes in the nurture. You have to have this nurture in order to get people to you know, to earn their trust.

Speaker 2: 16:25

I don't have to think of a longer way to say it absolutely just earn it yeah, yeah, and you know, there's some people that you meet and they might be really super nice, but they might just not be your, your, your vibe, they might not be your ideal client in the way that you, you know, know, deliver. I'm very I don't work with my hair on fire, I am very, like, calm, like we'll figure this out. We got it pretty easy going. So when I find that you know the flip side of that vibe, I might have somebody else that might be a good fit for them, but maybe it's not me, you know, and that's okay. So that's part of the whole, you know.

Speaker 1: 16:59

The whole theory too is, you know, knowing and being really secure with the people that you, that you want to spend all that time with that is a great point in that, like we started our businesses for a reason, it was, you know, to live the life that we want to live aren't a good fit for you. You're gonna feel that discomfort all the time, not just during your work hours. You're always gonna be a little long edge when your phone rings or an email pops in. It's not worth it.

Speaker 2: 17:35

Yeah, you know. No, I mean every, every pot has a lid, right. So there's somebody for everybody, and if it's not me, totally fine. Yeah, because there's people out there for me. So that's kind of how I approach that too.

Speaker 1: 17:50

That is an excellent point. We have some people like that. I'm fresher, it ain't me.

Speaker 2: 17:58

Yeah, exactly Exactly. And some people are like, wow, I want to dig in there and you know, and I have my, I have my, my ways and my methods. I use a lot of intuition. I part of what I did my previous job before this was I had mentioned when we talked, I was in fitness, for they don't usually come walking in the door like, hey, I'm ready to change my whole life. They come in like my doctor said, I have to come here or I have a reunion or a wedding and I have to do X, y, z and get fit. So it's very emotional. And so I really learned for a long time that that's the part of the experience that I can really nurture and that I've become quite good at that, that emotional connection and emotional intelligence. Because the same in business Now, people just have a problem and they need somebody to help them follow it. So I can do that with you. You know, we can make a connection and I can be that person if that's, if that's the right fit. So that's how I approach.

Speaker 1: 19:03

That too, no, it's, um, yeah, not something that I was talking to someone earlier today where we were talking about like differentiation. When you do something as someone else like you aren't the only online business manager out there but no one else does it the way you do. No one else approaches it the way you do. No one else is you and that's your differentiator. Is that that high emotional intelligence?

Speaker 2: 19:32

oh, exactly, yeah, and I I used to same thing and say that in fitness, all the time too, there are instructors that are technically better than me, but my classes are going to be really, really cool with my people and, and they and they are, because I know who my people are and I know how to help them, and they can go to another class also. Fine, yeah, and it's the same thing.

Speaker 2: 19:56

Yeah, there's probably about maybe an average of maybe 1 million online business managers out there right now. We have a lot, it's a lot of us, but I'm the only wingwoman, so that's the way I do it.

Speaker 1: 20:11

Yes, so if someone wants to work with you, how can they?

Speaker 2: 20:16

Well, they can find my LinkedIn. I can share my LinkedIn with you, or they can email me, I can, I can share my LinkedIn with you, and or just they can email me and give you my email address.

Speaker 1: 20:27

Yes, I will put both of those in the show notes so they can go directly to you and you guys can connect. You can have your own little connection, call.

Speaker 2: 20:40

Absolutely yes, I would love that. Always fun to expand and meet new people. And you know, it's just so fun to be in the like. There's no limit, right? There's no, there's not four walls here. We can connect with anybody in the world. So kind of makes it a little more fun, a little more exciting.

Speaker 1: 20:57

Yes, it does Well. Thank you for joining me. This was so helpful to hear how you do the follow-up, because I know that you are the follow-up person for your clients that are doing the events and it's really working out well for you.

Speaker 2: 21:15

It's a lot of fun and I really enjoy it. Good Thanks for having me. It's really fun too. Thanks so much, Sarah.

Speaker 1: 21:22

Good thanks for having me it's really fun too. Thanks so much, sarah. If you enjoyed this episode, please, please, please, remember to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and rate and review, but, most importantly, tell your friends, share this episode with a friend so other people know about tiny marketing and our uncut summer series. I will see you next week with another great one.