In my last post, The Art of Setting Boundaries, I talked about the importance of setting boundaries in your networking to protect your precious time. In my experience, one of the BEST ways to protect your time is to use technology and consistent structures & processes. When I first started my public-facing life, I had no boundaries or structures in place to manage my time, schedule, connections, follow up’s, and, most importantly, my incoming stream of prospects and clients. The consequence? A LOT of things fell through the cracks, I was exhausted, and I began to feel pings of embarrassment and shame for not following through on things that I promised. Because I was proactive about my reputation, I began to implement some technology and structures to help support this process.

Now, before I get too far into the weeds here - I need to remind you - I am an Enneagram 7 - and consistency is a huge challenge for me. I still mess this up or try to recreate the wheel more often than I’d like to admit, but I always end up back at the same solutions - and those are the ones I’m going to share with you in this resource.

So, As a networking enthusiast, here's a peek into the arsenal of tech tools that form the backbone of my strategy:

Calendly (SCHEDULING): This is 100%, by far, my favorite tool. Calendly streamlines the scheduling process. Last year, this tool saved me hundreds of emails, and hours of correspondence. It also ensured accuracy and that both parties involved in the meeting(s) had the same information. Calendly takes the hassle out of finding the perfect meeting time by allowing contacts to view your availability (which you get to set) and book a slot that suits them. It also ensures a smooth and efficient scheduling experience for both parties. I have tried at least 4 other scheduling platforms, and Calendly is by far the best user experience AND it allows for the most customization. This is a non-negotiable in my business.

Google Calendar (SCHEDULING): This one might not be a surprise, but I don’t know what I would do without my calendar. In the past, I’ve used Outlook, Apple, and various written calendars, but Google is the best. The way I’ve figured out how to optimize the use of this tool is through a super intentional color coding system. This adds a layer of clarity, allowing me to visually categorize and prioritize various engagements, and see how heavy my week is in different categories at a glance, rather than having to get into the weeds. I can already hear you asking what my colors are, so here you go:

• Pink = Personal

• Dark Blue = Speaking Engagement

• Orange = Networking Meeting or Event (no clear sales/business opportunity, intention to connect)

• Yellow = Business Meeting (intention to do business, or meeting with an active client)

• Red = Centurions (this one will go away in July of this year & will then represent a “must do” item)

• Green = Volunteer

• Purple = Working on the Business

Zoom (MEETINGS): Want to know one of my biggest business pet peeves? Teams or Google Meets meetings. Sorry, but it’s true! The visual and audio quality isn’t as good, it takes too long to connect, the tools aren’t as robust… it’s a mess. There is a free version of Zoom, but it’s worth it to buy the paid version for the additional features and time. I also love that I can transfer the meeting from my phone to my computer & vice versa - almost seamlessly, which is great when I have to jump into a meeting when I’m on the go. Before COVID, I almost never did virtual meetings, but now, it’s such a great tool for building my network outside of Kansas City, being able to keep meetings on the calendar when schedules change (i.e. the 3 snow days my kids had last week!), and it’s a great way to own your time (you can shrink down meeting times and eliminate travel). An absolute must-have for the modern networker. I feel another post coming on specifically about this. *NOTE: I’m still a bigger advocate for in-person networking when possible.*

Notion (NOTE TAKING): I learned all about this tool when I worked in marketing, and it’s become one of my favorite tools. Before Notion, I was doing all of my notetaking in about 6 different notebooks - I still do this - I love hand-writing notes, as it helps me retain information, but the issue was that I would get bored with a notebook & change them, or if I wanted to refer back to the meeting notes, I could never remember where they were. So now, Notion is the a singular location that all of my networking notes land. It’s highly customizable (can be overwhelming at first, but there are templates you can work from or even purchase online!) It even has collaborative features, customizable templates, and seamless organization empower to help you to capture insights, action items, and valuable details from your networking meetings. I also use this for client dashboards, but that’s for another post. :)

LinkedIn (CONNECTING): No list of networking tools is complete without mentioning LinkedIn. As the premier professional networking platform, LinkedIn allows you to build your online presence, connect with industry peers, and stay updated on the latest trends. When I was in finance, I didn’t use this tool NEARLY as deeply as I should have (compliance, amiright?!). But, this is THE social media platform I am now on most regularly - checking in on others in my network, sharing and digesting thought leadership, and expressing my values and personal/professional brand. Don’t sleep on LinkedIn - it’s worth your time investment!

Streak (CRM): Managing relationships effectively requires some sort of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. I’m guilty of consistently taking it back to the old school Excel spreadsheet, but I consistently bring it back here. I love that Streak integrates seamlessly with Gmail, you can use it to keep track of interactions, set reminders for follow-ups, and gain valuable insights to nurture and grow your network. It’s nice because it’s not an extra tool - it literally adds right into your Gmail. One downside - it doesn’t work great in Safari - you really have to move to Chrome for full functionality.

SuperHuman (EMAIL) - This is a new one I’m OBSESSED with. It’s $30/month, and I actually cancelled it because I really don’t need additonal subscriptions to things right now, but I re-started it within the month because of how it actually added to my productivity. This tool helps you manage your inbox by getting you to “Inbox Zero” without taking your fingers off the keyboard. It helps you snooze for later, set reminders, file things away, delete, unsubscribe, schedule meetings, etc. I’ve gotten to literally ZERO items in my inbox twice over the last 2 months! I’m working on daily/weekly eventually. :) #worthit

Otter.ai (TRANSCRIPTION) - I have ADHD, like many ambitious professionals do. And, staying engaged while also taking notes and remembering everything from the meeting… impossible. That is, before Otter.ai. :) I LOVE this tool so much. It’s a transcription app that transcribes your meetings for you - I have this on for every meeting with my business coach becuase there is SO much gold that happens in those meetings, and I have no way of retaining it all at once. It also integrates right into Zoom! After a meeting with someone, I take the Otter.ai & copy the link to the conversation into the Notion notes, so I have everything linked in one place. :)

HoneyBook (PROPOSALS) - This isn’t as much for networking, but it deserves a mention. This is the tool I use for all proposals, prospect management, and invoicing. Last year, I found myself manually designing and starting from scratch on every single proposal. It was NOT a good use of time, and led to a lack of consistency in my communications. HoneyBook has amazing design capabilities built-in, which is important to me so that the quality of my proposals matches the quality of my work and my brand overall. This tool allows for that. It also creates a dashboard for each client so you can share information easily, share invoices, and see activity. Truthfully, I haven’t dug into all of the complex capabilities of this tool as much as I’d like to - I know it can do more than what I’m using it for. The couple of complaints I have about this tool are that it doesn’t do a great job of showing projections (although it does integrate with QuickBooks), and, it doesn’t serve as a super intuitive CRM, especially for people who aren’t clients/prospects (which I why I also use Streak).

WHEW! That was a lot. I’m a big believer in the saying, “work smarter, not harder,” - we’re all busy - technology can help us get a little bit of our time back while also enhancing our client experience and internal organization.

Every one of these tools was recommended by someone in my network. So I’m curious - what are your favorite tools? And what are the areas of your networking and/or sales process that you have the hardest time managing?