What to do when one of your professional networking contacts responds to your email?

What do you do after you have contacted someone in your professional network and they respond?

Be human.

Today, you are going to spend 15 minutes connecting with people who have responded to your LinkedIn messages and emails.

There may be only one person who you need to follow-up with.

The F-word: Follow-up

When people respond to your notes, Follow-up.

What does this look like? Nothing more than a thank you for responding and then try to move from an online connection to an in-person connection.

It can be a meeting for coffee or lunch or a simple phone call.

This isn't complicated.

In fact, I'm embarrassed by how simple this is.

And yet, most people won't do this.

People will say, "I don't have time."

That's fine for most people, but not for you.

You are going to spend 15 minutes today and follow-up with one person to try to set up an in person conversation.

Got your timer? Is it set for 15 minutes?

Ready, set, Go!

At 15 minutes, Stop!

Did you follow-up with that one person? Did you follow-up with more than one?

Now you do what you would normally do as a human being: spent time talking with the person you followed-up with and find out how they are doing.

Talk to them about what is going on in their life. Find a way to help them.

And when they ask how they can help you, be ready to ask for their advice or their wisdom or their experience.

People love to help people.

People love to give more than they love to receive.

Make sure you are being a giver and receiving will take care of itself.