The other day I had a close professional call.
My team and I have been working on software that connects recipe sites to grocery stores. With that, I have been working both sets of partners, recipe sites, and grocery stores. Months ago, I approached a large media firm in hopes of working with them and their millions of recipe sites to partner with us. The meeting went well and was attended by no less than seven internal executives. We all decided we should come back in six months to review the project and discuss a start date.
I called my main contact who was gone. I called the next contact…gone. A third contact…he’s gone. I called the fourth person and it was his last day on the job. All seven executives had moved on. Graciously, the last holdout provided me a contact with the appropriate executive to start the conversation…over.
This was an eyeopener to showcase the immediacy of professional movement in the media companies these days when one is NOT a brand owner. The transiency of the digital world is alarming and stuns executives like myself who years ago prided themselves on loyalty and dedication to building out a brand regardless of the avenue that the brand took to grow.
For many of these executives, I have their personal email and for some, I have had to reach back to LinkedIn to get back on the radar. This was the next step to see if whatever they are working on next could in fact suit my business now or perhaps in the future.
Make sure you know where your main contacts are within mid- to larger-sized companies every 30-45 days. You want to ensure you’re on top of his or her mind wherever they land next!
