It's happened to many of us. You see a person in a public place. You look at each other, make eye contact and then look away. Both of you know you've met each other previously but neither of you remember how or when; let alone remember each others' name.
Don't you just hate that? I do. Especially if they approach you, remember you and your name but you just can't remember theirs or how you know them. You search the "Rolodex" in your head. Still, there's nothing. Just emptiness and frustration.
The same thing happens when you
connect with someone on LinkedIn. Time goes by and you forget how or why you connected in the first place. You ask yourself, "Where did we first meet? A networking event? A mutual business acquaintance introduced us?"
Unless you have a photographic memory, keeping up with all your connections is virtually impossible. Until now.
Here's the good news LinkedIn users! Once you and someone else are connected all the information you would typically forget about the person can be written directly on their profile page and only you can see it. It's actually pretty simple once you
activate LinkedIn Contacts and sync all your contacts. If you already have, this tool has been staring at you for a long time but maybe you haven't taken the time to use it or have quizzically glanced at it.
Just below the person's image and profile header, two tabs labeled "Relationship" and "Contact Info" are clearly marked. Most of us are aware of the Contact section but few individuals take advantage of the Relationship tab. Maybe it's seen as too much trouble or it's just misunderstood. Either way, let's take the mystery out of this great underutilized LinkedIn tool: The Relationship Tab.
The Relationship tab has four basic functionalities:
Note: Use this for jotting down topics of recent conversations, reminders of what was discussed at a meeting, any personal helpful info to keep the relationship fresh.
Reminder: This is very powerful. LinkedIn allows you to set up a reminder to prompt you in a day, a week, a month or even recurring (every week, every month, every 3 months, every 6 months, every year and even a custom range of days). The platform will automatically send you a message based on how you set this up.
How You Met: No more head scratching trying to place someone in your head. Now you can say, "Oh yeah! I met you at that annual conference for our association in Charlotte."
Tag: Sort your connections based on your desire to classify each contact into a category or keyword. Now you'll be able to view and communicate with your connections in a whole new way.
Take advantage of this mini-CRM LinkedIn tool. If you keep it up to date, you'll increase your chances for continued success, be reminded to check in with prospects and connections and minimize those moments of bewilderment when someone reintroduces himself or herself to you.
Contributed by Ira Bass of Connect to Success
