Navigating Year-End Connections … and Beyond! | RR235

Hi, everyone, and welcome to this episode of

relationships rule. We're going to do things a little

differently in the month of December, and I'm really excited

about it, I am bringing you a solo series of four episodes in

the month of December. And my title is the relationship

marketing roadmap, navigating year end connections and beyond.

I wanted to end the year by sharing some things with you

that I think you know that I talk about these things all the

time. But I think it's a perfect opportunity to spend some time

with you, my listeners, and as a gift to you, at the end of this

year, give you some thoughtful considerations, and year end

ideas and some things for the upcoming year that you can use

going forward. You know that it's important to maintain

connections. And I feel that it's important to do that all

year, all year round. But if and if you're a regular listener of

my podcast, you know, I'm all about curiosity, connections and

cars, I believe the best way anytime of year to grow your

client base is to nurture your connections, your past clients,

and referral partners. So everything I do is hinged around

relationships. Now, we're just coming off the US Thanksgiving

and gratitude month in general. So it's a great way to kick off

the holiday season. In these four episodes, I will share some

thoughts, ideas and practical strategies for you to

incorporate into your year end, and the new year two. So let's

start with LinkedIn, my social media platform of choice, as you

know, and explore some creative and quick ways to express

gratitude on LinkedIn, from personalized messages to

interactive posts. Number one, are you taking advantage of the

new feature which is on your desktop and your mobile, but

it's certainly quicker to do this on your mobile. It's called

celebrations, or it shows you the words grow and catch up. And

this is actually in the network section of of your profile. So

when you're on your, on your LinkedIn profile, the menu at

the top one of them is your or mine network, it says my

network. And when you see that and go to that section, you will

see somewhere in there either ace, a strip that says

celebrations or at the top of the the actual columns, it will

say grow and catch up. It's fairly new. And I'm not sure if

everyone has it yet. And if everyone has the same version, I

think they're trying two different versions because I

have one and someone else I know has another anyway, it's a quick

way to touch base with someone. And it's timely as they may be

celebrating a birthday or an anniversary, or a new job. And

that's those are the things that you can choose from. And when

you see those, push those. Notice push notifications that

you have there, you can easily do what the options are to click

on it and basically send a direct message to the person

congratulating them. Or you can personalize it even more if you

want to. Number two, when you have a video meeting with

someone, you could take a quick screenshot, then post a

screenshot, and even promote the person which shows that you're

generous, you're a giver. And they will appreciate it as well

as their audience will then hopefully see it as well. So

here's an example of something I did just the other day, I did a

podcast interview with one of my guests that's coming up, you'll

probably hear it in the new year. And I took a screenshot of

the two of us on Zoom. And I posted that on LinkedIn tab,

tagging her in it and saying that I had a delightful time

interviewing her today. And also at that time because when my

interview comes, goes live, it will be past the date of this

event that she's doing. I wanted to give her a little push for

that. And so I said in that and you might want to check out her

masterclass next week, blah, blah blah, and I know she

appreciated it and it's just a nice gesture and a great post to

do that. Number three it's a great time of year to reconnect

with your existing LinkedIn connect Since perhaps doing a

holiday campaign, how many connections do you have? When

was the last time you reached out to them, taking the lead and

sending a holiday message will put you ahead of the crowd. Most

people don't even bother. They're too busy chasing new

connections. You can do it yourself, or you can hire

someone to do it for you. I have the perfect person who did mine

last year. Let me know if you need help. And I'll introduce

you, we came up with a message together and looked at my list

of connections sorting who I really wanted to touch. Here's a

sample message that I'm talking about. As the holiday season

begins, I like to reflect and appreciate and mostly be

grateful for the wonderful people in my life. I'm so glad

we connected on LinkedIn, and all the possibilities that it

brings. Please know I'm always here to help you succeed in any

way possible. May you end 2023 on a high note, have a joyful

holiday season. And a spectacular start into another

year of life's awesome adventures. And happy new year

to that's just a sample. And I encourage you to make your own

message in your own words and tone and give it a go. You'll be

surprised how many relationships you can rekindle from just that

one strategy. Timing is everything as we know. And your

message may just remind someone that the time is right now to

work with you. I know that happened for me, I did rekindle

a few relationships, I did get new business out of it. And I

had people say, hey, it might be a good time now to take a look

at what we were talking about last year. So let me know if

that works for you. Let us know move now from LinkedIn, to cards

cards that count. One of my favorite things to do at any

time of year is send cards. I love to send unexpected

heartfelt cards to celebrate, appreciate, inspire, and

sometimes show empathy to people in my world. There's always a

reason to send a card in my opinion. If you know me, you

know that I'm affiliated with a company called promptings

perfect name for this company, and use their system Send Out

Cards, which makes it so easy as it is an online system. I have

it on my desktop and my phone. So I can always send a card to

someone. The beauty of it though, is that I send a real

tangible touch card in the mail. Yes, old fashioned mail, because

it does make a difference. Now, whether you use that very

convenient system, which prints stuff, stamps and sins, or still

go to the store to buy cars, handwrite them and mail them

yourself. You're still in the minority, and I commend you.

Most people don't do it at all. A lot of people today send an

email or even a text to say thank you. I appreciate you. It

was nice to meet you. Now I asked you does it have the same

impact when you're on the receiving end? As it does when

you receive an actual card? Trust me, you will stand out

from the crowd, warm someone's heart and make their day when

you send a real card. I don't know if you know this, but only

3% of mail received today is personal and who doesn't open a

greeting card. In the spirit of the season, I'd like to share

this perspective shift with you by using an age old character

from a Christmas carol Scrooge. Bah humbug. Scrooge was not a

fan of receiving holiday cards until he understood why sending

holiday greetings matters. While you may not have been an avid

fan of sending holiday cards in the past, the impact of

spreading joy can extend far beyond what meets the eye. And

in a business. holiday greetings are a bonus hidden gem to build

lasting relationships well into the new year. Do you want to

remind someone of the shared moments you had this year? Send

them a heartfelt holiday card. And if it includes a photo of

the two of you even more of a bonus, want to add a personal

touch to the relationships you build. Extend your warm wishes

and gratitude during this festive season. Do you want to

beat out your competition? Some people are still pretty

competitive. So if you want to do that, create and pre program

your cards to go out let's say the end of November 1 week in

December, you're guaranteed to be there early. And when cards

are they're early, they are on display longer and therefore

more people see them so keep that in mind too.

Huh Let's look at how to optimize your holiday greetings

to strengthen connections and foster goodwill. Number one who

deserves your holiday greetings, your clients, your colleagues,

your friends and family are undoubtedly worthy recipients.

But going overboard is unnecessary. Keep it genuine and

heartfelt. And remember, it's about sincerity. So if it's

overwhelming to you to do to send cars to everybody, pick the

ones you really want to stay connected with. Number two, be

efficient. I know you're busy. But automated does work just as

well in our fast paced world and saves time and money. So when I

said, have your cards go out by November 29, or the beginning of

December, you can actually do them today with a system like

the one I use and pre programmed them to go out on the day you

actually want them to go out. Number three, do send them on

time. Be prompt. The sooner you send your holiday greetings, the

more you'll stand out and ensure your message is well received.

holiday greetings are an excellent way to make someone's

day brighter, strengthen your professional connections, and

stay ahead of your competition. So don't procrastinate. And by

the way, if you need any help, you know where I am. Here's one

bonus thing I want to mention, though, about sending holiday

cards that I often see kind of puts a sour taste in my mouth

when I've had it happened to me and I have had it happen. So

when someone sends when you're sending holiday cards, be

careful that you don't make it self promotional. So here's an

example. I received a very, very serious Christmas card one time

from somebody who is religious and it had those connotations on

the card. Inside the card. She had also included a Christmas

letter, which is, you know, neither here nor there. But that

was an extra piece. But the thing that actually got me was

she included her business card in there as well. That really

soured it. For me. It's not about business. This is about

celebrating, showing you care at this time of year. So one thing

you can do if you're using a system, or having cards printed

is you could put a photo on the back one of your family of your

kids, your pet something festive, which shows you in a

completely different light than your connection may normally see

you. Make it be about family be about celebrating, whatever, but

not the focus on business. So that's it for now. I hope you

took something away to incorporate into your holiday

rituals. We'd love to know drop me a line if something really

resonated with you. My wish is that you examine the business

relationships that made a difference to your journey this

past year, and reach out to express gratitude and show some

love. Next week we'll take a look at ways to navigate your

network in the busy holiday season. And keep you top of mind

and so much more. See you then. Until then remember to stay

connected and be remembered