Relationship building is a game of inches

The American National Baseball League (MLB) season has come to an end. I personally do not follow the teams and players much. But, my father and his love for the game have imprinted me with the culture. I still love to play actually. However, it is not just the entertainment and sports that Baseball is about. Baseball is an allegory for the business world. It is ingrained in the (US) culture to talk about following through on a swing or hitting a home run when discussing matters of monetary value. Have you not seen Money Ball?

Baseball is a game of inches, and so is relationship building. Following-up is about going that extra mile. Following up is the not your first interaction with a new person, it is the second. And just like your first impression matters, so does your second. Winning in baseball is about all the small extra steps that the entire team take throughout the nine innings. Games, series and seasons are rarely won by grand slams or last-minute hail marys (American Football term). Playing in the big leagues requires those extra moves to claim the glory, else it is back to the basement (bottom of the rankings).

When business cards are exchanged, it’s not a curveball, it’s a fat pitch (where the hitter is expecting). The golden opportunity has presented itself to run through your lineup. Your second touch with the new contact is to acknowledge that you have received their information, and are planning to further the relationship in the future. Maybe you are not the closer (relief pitcher tasked with getting the final outs), but you want to touch all the bases before you return to the dugout (players bench). The first follow-up may well be the last, but if you want to increase your RBIs (or CVR) you may play pitcher-catcher with subsequent follow-ups.

Folocard is designed for to help you avoid hole in the glove (drops fly balls) syndrome. Prepare for the game, creating new Folos (email templates) is like stepping into the batting cage. Its practice makes perfect. You can choose which Folo to send to each new contact, and you still have the chance to edit the email further before sending. Why not sequence the message with a more elaborate and detailed 2nd follow up. Even if the first follow-up is simply a “hello, it was nice meeting you” message (with your contact details attached as a vCard file), you essentially bunted. A proven method to get you on base. If you constantly hack at the ball you may connect once in awhile, but your average will be abysmal. Folocard is like your corked bat (rubber core bat), it is another tool at your disposal that can help you increase your stats.

Your second follow-up should have more meat to it. To avoid a bad hop, follow-up Emails should hold the following three components:

1. Thank you – gratitude goes a long way, almost a given.
2. Common ground – a sentence about a positive element of the meeting.
3. Key Takeaways – show your commitment, this is the productive part.

We will dive deeper into how to create meaningful, valuable and relevant follow-ups in subsequent posts. Be sure to stay tuned.

Oh and, congrats to the new World Champions: the Brooklyn Los Angles Dodgers Houston Astros.

Source for terms: https://www.baseballmonkey.com/article-common-baseball-terms-defined