A living and active network is worth gold.. but how often and how much do you need to communicate to maintain our relationships?

Time is a challenge for most people, or rather the lack of time.

I’ve got three tricks to strengthen your network communication and be more economic with how you spend you time:  

Draw a line – choose your frequency for answering 
Let me be clear: It is perfectly okay not to answer within 60 minutes after you’ve got a request. With regards to your image amongst your network it might be comprehensive to create a personal guideline that helps you being consistent in how quick you reply. 

It’s my personal experience that a 24 hour reply-deadline works really well. It gives me time to focus both on network on a daily basis and also solve other tasks. 

It’s worth noting that there’s a message in the timeframe itself. The importance or urgency drop down as time is ticking. 

Answer everybody. Always. 
One of the secrets about being succesful in your network is to work strategically in all directions at the same time. 

You never know where your new business is hidden or where new options arise – no matter if you’re looking for a new employee, a new client or a new member to your board. Every single person you meet can be important for you. 

Minor details matter
The minor details matter. Of course this is about finding your own style, but remembering and mentioning birthdays, sports and holidays actually matter. Because it shows that you listen for real and think about your network as human beings – not just a job function. 

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(Well, you’ve got to draw the line somewhere)