Recorded at Harvard:
Here's my time-honored method for quickly and effectively following up after collecting large numbers of business cards at conferences, conventions and other networking events.
The three basic steps are:
1) Take notes on the card while talking to the person.
2) Immediately decide if you intend to followup -- if yes, put the card in your left pocket. All others go in your right pocket.
3) Immediately after you collect the cards, spend 5-10 minutes sorting the cards according to your priorities and categories.
4) Rank the importance of each card (Potential Hires: is the person an "A" candidate, or a "C" candidate?)
5) Followup with specific emails or phone calls within 48 hours, and delegate if you can (the notes, categorization and ranking makes delegation much easier).
