Janice Porter: 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