∴ How to Follow Up From an Initial Coffee Chat

Hey Leader of Today,

One of my biggest weaknesses that I have been working on over the last couple years is: relationship management.

For the longest time, I used to be that guy that wouldn’t reply to your texts for weeks and would only reach out when it’s urgent or I need something.

This would be me:

I became more aware of this in 2022.

This bad habit starting showing up in my professional relationships.

I started realising that I would be so good at having initial “coffee chats” but wouldn’t know how to convert those into long term relationships.

Looking back, I have had chats with so many cool people - from CEO’s, to MP’s to Celebrities, Sports Legends and even a Billionaire … but none of those mean anything now.

I used to think networking was all about having chats with as many established people as possible.

Only to realise I was ‘playing the game’ wrong the entire time.

Networking isn’t only about the number of people you know, but more importantly about the depth of the relationships you have.

This week, I share the first step of building a long term relationship with someone: the follow up email.

read time: 4 mins

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Mastering the Follow-up Email

Within the first 24-48 hours after meeting the person, it’s important that you send a follow up message. As simple as it sounds, most people get this initial part wrong.

Instead of just sending a basic “thank you” note, it is important that you use this opportunity to add value to the person that you meet.

“But Ziyaan, I am only a student - how can I add value to someone more experienced than me?”

It doesn’t have to be something huge or complicated.

Let me give you a real life example:

In 2023, I met with Zabeen Hirji - former Chief HR Officer at RBC (Canada’s largest bank).

During our 30 min conversation, I spent time learning about her journey, her interests, goals and challenges.

This was the follow up email I sent her 👇🏽

Email Subject: Notice how I didn’t overcomplicate it and it’s simple

Personalised thank you: After thanking her for our conversation, I made sure I mentioned something very specific I took away from our conversation. This included a reference to an anecdote she shared with me as well as a mention of her new initiative. This is so important to do because it shows that the conversation was impactful and there was a specific takeaway.

Value: During our conversation, Zabeen mentioned she listens to a lot of podcasts and she is really interested in the Future of Work. Although I had nothing significant to offer, I did some research on the above (took me less than 15 minutes) and sent them to her. When sharing things like the above - it’s also important to share why you shared them and give them a summary of it.

No Ask: Zabeen is one of the most connected people I know. I could have infinite number of asks for her that would be life changing for me. But notice how I didn’t have one. If you want to network the right way, it’s important you build relationships that aren’t transactional.

Now I know when you’re looking for a job, they say you should have a coffee chat with HR and then ask for a referral. You may see some success with doing that, but ideally you should already having a relationship before you even have an ask. If an HR manager already knows you for a while and has followed your journey, you won’t even have to go through an application process. The point here is - it’s important to build new relationships especially when you don’t need something.

Meeting Zabeen has led to so many opportunities like getting interviewed on CTV and meeting new partners for Leaders of Today - but I’ll save that story for another day.

The follow up email is only the first step though, building relationships takes time and it’s not something that happens overnight. If you’d like to learn more about 4 other things you can do after this initial email, check out this deep dive I did on this topic last year.

My friend, it took my forever to figure networking and relationships - and I feel like I am still learning and getting better at this. Hoping this newsletter will give you an additional tool in your toolbox and will help you in your journey. Let me know if you found it helpful - I make sure to reply to every single email we get from our community.

Sending you the best energy from my place in Toronto my friend,

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