But she may also be able to help you with business contacts, or she may work on the same charity you do and be plugged into some people who can either help with fund raising or whose companies will contribute to favorite charities. All these different aspects of your contact's relationships should be recorded and cross referenced. And you, in turn, must be willing to pay back and offer your time and talent in return, because that's an integral part of the relationship, that it is a two way street which works both ways. Once you have all your contact information recorded and organized, where it's at your finger tips and easily accessible, you then should develop a system to keep the lines of communication open and, in time, to make sharing information a habit. Set up a schedule which suits you, whether it's an hour a day, several hours a week or half a day a month, to review your contacts in some systematic way and reach out to them.
Communication is what greases the wheels and keeps the relationship working.
If you have cross referenced a contact's interests, or the organizations you both belong to, you can send them a clipping or email a Web reference or reminder about a meeting, or a speaker you both heard or hope to hear , a new article or book on a topic of common interest. More important than what you send, is the fact that you are remembering them and sending the implied message that they are important to you and you are working on maintaining and continuing to develop your relationship. Today, in an intensely competitive global environment, it is important to capture any edge one can. Not only must our business skills constantly be honed, but our relationships must continue to expand and be nourished in order to maximize our odds of achieving success.