Some people may be gifted with genius-level social skills, to the point that networking becomes a walk in the park for them. But, obviously, they’re exceptions rather than the rule. In a perfect world, everyone will be spared from the awkward, if not frustrating, challenges of networking – only exacerbated by pandemic restrictions.
So what’s the best we can do? Adapt, of course. A Smart Networking Platform, in particular, is designed to be an adaptive solution to the said challenges. How exactly will it help you attain lasting success in your business relationships? That shall be our main point of discussion.
What’s Holding Most People Back When It Comes to Professional Networking?
For all your desire to reach out to people and build better relationships with them, it doesn’t really take long to encounter the stumbling blocks most professionals encounter. Moreover, it’s not for nothing that we use the term Business Relationship Management. The “management” aspect has to be underscored, as it implies the importance of keeping things organized.
How can you do that if you literally have more than 3,000 people listed as your professional contacts? And, that’s just one problem, of course. The most prevalent pain points of professional networkers are often the following:
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Going through the sheer quantity of connections you have on multiple platforms.
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Remembering important details about a particular person.
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Having safer and better ways to exchange contacts in the face of pandemic restrictions.
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You get to perform most networking essentials in-app.
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Keep a record of every meeting you conduct and key details about it.
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Share contact information completely contact-free.
Whether it’s in your business cards or email, managing your contacts and knowing who to prioritize reaching out to at a specific time can become an uphill climb. This rings truer if you have to manually update your contacts every time.
This is vital when following up or reintroducing yourself after a previous meeting a long time ago. You have to help them remember you, and it’s hard to do that if you can’t get into the tidbits and details.
Retaining these details is not without its unique perks. For one, many people tend to be impressed if someone remembers a key detail about them, especially if it was revealed only in passing and a long time ago. Another is that it gives you an inkling about the personality of the individual and will make it easier for you to discern what to say to them or how any future conversations will go.
It’s harder than ever to conduct face-to-face meetings nowadays without fear of contracting or spreading COVID-19. This completely goes against the traditional way of exchanging contact information and business cards.
These are but some of the prevailing issues faced by networkers, which are holding them back from nurturing long-term business relationships.
How Does a Smart Networking Platform Help?
Essentially, it is designed to address the said hurdles directly. And it does so with only one app, thus, saving more time and effort for its users. This kind of networking platform earns its “smart” label by providing convenience, efficiency, and tools to ensure successful relationship-building.
These features by StayTouch, which is basically a smart networking platform, will help you in the following ways.
Whether it’s having to update your contacts list or staying in touch (hence the name) with your contacts, these can all be done with the help of features such as the business card scanner and messenger. You’ll be able to automatically update your contact list and send notifications to them to inform them about the updates.
You can keep in touch and schedule meetings via the messenger. The meetings themselves can be set completely virtually and in accordance with pandemic guidelines. You just have to set the date, location, and the app will allow you to set a time for a reminder to be set, so you’ll have no chance of missing the meeting.
For remembering key details about every contact and meeting part, the app provides a simple solution: it keeps a record of every meeting you conduct, including vital details about the client, as long as you input it in the app.
This is complemented by the audio notes feature, which forgoes the need to jot down every detail you need to take note of. Instead, you can record on the go your voice, store it along with a unique title, and replay it in preparation for the next time you meet a specific contact.
You can even choose between text memos or image-based memos, whichever one you find more convenient. What’s important is for you to take these details into account and not lose them.
StayTouch introduces the concept of Digital Business Cards. Basically, these are digital cards that can be exchanged by simply putting two smartphones together. It will automatically transfer the contact information in seconds once set, and you can manage it from the get-go to refrain from losing or forgetting about.
Not a lot of Contact Exchange Solutions offer this level of speed of convenience, especially when compared to any other alternative method available.
Making the Networker’s Life A Little Less Hectic
As you can see, smart networking is all about eliminating the obstacles that’s holding every networker back. It’s easy to fall into the mental trap that you have no other choice but to put up with the challenges we have listed above. Most people often just make do with what’s available to them, not knowing that there are better ways to do the fundamental processes involved in networking.
You just have to look for solutions that are well aware of the problems and how networking should be conducted. On the whole, that’s the ideal formula to creating a smart networking platform that will be able to deliver concrete results.
Conclusion
It’s every networker’s goal to build lasting relationships. However, nowadays with the field vastly changed by technological advancement and prevailing calamity, it’s important to be open to innovation. More or less, these platforms are designed with them in mind already. The facts presented here prove as much.