I was wide awake early today. I am quite
excited for today, the start of my son’s new lacrosse season, something I look
forward to each year in late-February and early-March. Three scrimmages are a
lot of playing time on a very cold day, but it will be fun. I’m also excited
for this upcoming Tuesday. I’ve been invited to join old friends and business
colleagues at a dinner event. It has been a while since I’ve spent time with
these guys and I am looking forward to talking shop and hearing about their
families.
As a sales person I often get buried in
the here and now. I’m constantly working on a new deal with a new prospect.
Rekindling the old flames (clients) in hopes of staying engaged with them. And,
if it’s not for my own sales, I am working with my team overseeing their
efforts. When you combine the working here and now with the family here and now,
the constant list of kids’ activities, there doesn’t seem like much time to reconnect
with old colleagues. So, I’ve been looking forward to Tuesday the closer the
day comes.
Reconnecting with old colleagues can be good
for you. In a similar way to catching up with an old friend you’ve not seen in
a while, reconnecting with old friends on the business front can also be
refreshing. At one time you may have had more in common, but it is also
important to learn anew what these people are doing. You can become referral
sources for one another. You can educate one another on industries outside of
your daily scope. You can introduce one another to others in the group you’re
with that may extend your own professional network. And, who knows, you may
just very well land them as a new client.
I was lucky this go around by being
invited to the upcoming dinner event. I immediately said yes. In part, I am
intrigued by the guest speaker, and in part I want to break bread with my old
friends. But, I also have to admit that I’ve been lacking in my own approach to
staying connected or reconnecting with old colleagues. I’ve tried to take an
approach that every six months or so I get former business colleagues together
for an event, a lunch, or simply over coffee to, well, reconnect. And, as I
admit to be a bit of a slacker in this area, I am excited at the idea of
pushing myself back into this practice.
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