Making Connections for Creatives
In an effort to support our teammate Julia, as well as Nashville Design Week: a community that’s been so good to Ellevated Outcomes… our team is all-hands-on-deck for the next month, planning our active partipation in the festivities and events ahead. We’ll be running around the creative and professional services community with bells on, doing one of the things we love best: making connections for creatives and with creatives.
Those who get the most out of Nashville Design Week (or any type of event) do so because they show up, intending to make connections. (And don’t tell your fellow creatives, but what we’re really talking about is: relational business development). And the version of it we like to practice – is all about doing so authentically, by building authentic relationships.
So today, I wanted to share 5 simple tips to help our creative friends with making connections – whether at NDW, an industry event, or any of the festive events that are about to pop onto your calendar over the next few months…
1. Be able to describe: what you do, for whom, and how – in 1 sentence.
I know, I know. You may be silently objecting: “But you said that this is about authenticity!” Don’t worry: it still is. But you must know: at some point over the next month or two, someone will ask what you do for work. You want to be able to give a short description that is so vivid, it creates connective conversation. You’re specific and illustrative enough that your description sparks a follow up question or connection they’re dying to make for you.
2. Prepare an intention.
Don’t enter an event (even if virtual) empty-handed. Research who will be in attendance. If it’s a large event, see if you can get a peek of the guest list. If it’s an educational event, study the speaker(s). Then, take it one step further: solidify an intention of what you want to walk away with or who you want to meet.
For example, anytime I’m attending an event (even a virtual one), my intentions are two-fold:
(a) learn something new (or maybe I’m attenting something to support friends’ or clients’ work – so being present as a generous audience member) and
(b) discover 1 new interesting person, whom I want to know better. I’m not calculated about it. Believe it or not, I’m never “on the hunt” for clients or forcing an objective. I’m simply watching for stand-out, interesting people. Maybe they intrigue me because we have something in common; they have a skill I want to learn from; or simply, I feel chemistry with them. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m ruthless with my time. So, I only make connections that I really want to make.
3. Follow up, impeccably.
This tip is so… duh.
But when was the last time someone said, “Let’s get together soon!” And then you just… didn’t. (Probably yesterday, ha).
Lack of accountability (even for teeny, tiny things) blows. my. mind. One of my personal keys to success is impeccable follow-through. If I say that I’m going to do something, by golly, I am going to do it. And because most people don’t follow-through, this simple act is a no-brainer way to stand out from the crowd.
4. Use templates, checklists, and technology for #1-3.
Use tech to save your precious brain space for true connection.
In our Ellevated Outcomes Business Development Playbook, we have email templates for everything – from setting up 1-1s to on-boarding a new client. But because intimacy and connection is core in our culture, we don’t simply copy and paste. That’s too impersonal for our business model. Instead, we use the same starting templates with key points intact, to then easily customize to our respective personalities and personalize for our recipients.
When you’re in follow-up mode after a connection-making event, use a tool like Calendly to schedule things (here’s my Calendly process). Back and forth scheduling emails are such a waste in this day and age.
Lastly, on the tech front, create a recurring end of day digital connection checklist. My EOD checklist includes:
- document new people I met, including notes on what we talked about;
- if someone else paid, send a thank you note;
- follow-through on follow-ups, and…
5. Connect on social media.
Connect with the person you met on Instagram or Linkedin. Accompany the connect with a DM, then use your new online connection, to start building an omni-channel relationship.
For those of you we saw IRL(!) at Thursday’s Calendar Launch Party, it was a joy. Our team is bursting at the seams, anticipating this upcoming season of connection.
