Navigating Year-End Connections … and Beyond! | RR235
I decided to go solo for the month of December. My end of the year gift to you is a Relationship Marketing Roadmap. You will hear a 4-part series over the next 4 weeks in which I will share some thoughts, ideas and practical strategies for you to incorporate into your year end and the new year too.
These episodes will help you nurture your connections, past clients and referral partners and make you -- stay connected– and be remembered.
Seasonal Delights
The first episode is laying the framework , sharing some practical things you can do to end the year and set you up for success for next year.
A little about me:
I began my career as a teacher, was a corporate trainer for many years, and then found my niche training & supporting business owners, entrepreneurs & sales professionals to network at a world-class level. My passion is working with motivated people, who are coachable and who want to build their businesses through relationship marketing and networking (online & offline). I help my clients create retention strategies, grow through referrals, and create loyal customers by staying connected.
In appreciation for being here, I have a couple of items for you.
A LinkedIn Checklist for setting up your fully optimized Profile:
An opportunity to test drive the Follow Up system I recommend by taking the
10 Card Challenge – you won’t regret it.
Connect with me:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/janiceporter/
https://www.facebook.com/janiceporter1
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Transcript
Hi, everyone, and welcome to this episode of
Janice Porter:relationships rule. We're going to do things a little
Janice Porter:differently in the month of December, and I'm really excited
Janice Porter:about it, I am bringing you a solo series of four episodes in
Janice Porter:the month of December. And my title is the relationship
Janice Porter:marketing roadmap, navigating year end connections and beyond.
Janice Porter:I wanted to end the year by sharing some things with you
Janice Porter:that I think you know that I talk about these things all the
Janice Porter:time. But I think it's a perfect opportunity to spend some time
Janice Porter:with you, my listeners, and as a gift to you, at the end of this
Janice Porter:year, give you some thoughtful considerations, and year end
Janice Porter:ideas and some things for the upcoming year that you can use
Janice Porter:going forward. You know that it's important to maintain
Janice Porter:connections. And I feel that it's important to do that all
Janice Porter:year, all year round. But if and if you're a regular listener of
Janice Porter:my podcast, you know, I'm all about curiosity, connections and
Janice Porter:cars, I believe the best way anytime of year to grow your
Janice Porter:client base is to nurture your connections, your past clients,
Janice Porter:and referral partners. So everything I do is hinged around
Janice Porter:relationships. Now, we're just coming off the US Thanksgiving
Janice Porter:and gratitude month in general. So it's a great way to kick off
Janice Porter:the holiday season. In these four episodes, I will share some
Janice Porter:thoughts, ideas and practical strategies for you to
Janice Porter:incorporate into your year end, and the new year two. So let's
Janice Porter:start with LinkedIn, my social media platform of choice, as you
Janice Porter:know, and explore some creative and quick ways to express
Janice Porter:gratitude on LinkedIn, from personalized messages to
Janice Porter:interactive posts. Number one, are you taking advantage of the
Janice Porter:new feature which is on your desktop and your mobile, but
Janice Porter:it's certainly quicker to do this on your mobile. It's called
Janice Porter:celebrations, or it shows you the words grow and catch up. And
Janice Porter:this is actually in the network section of of your profile. So
Janice Porter:when you're on your, on your LinkedIn profile, the menu at
Janice Porter:the top one of them is your or mine network, it says my
Janice Porter:network. And when you see that and go to that section, you will
Janice Porter:see somewhere in there either ace, a strip that says
Janice Porter:celebrations or at the top of the the actual columns, it will
Janice Porter:say grow and catch up. It's fairly new. And I'm not sure if
Janice Porter:everyone has it yet. And if everyone has the same version, I
Janice Porter:think they're trying two different versions because I
Janice Porter:have one and someone else I know has another anyway, it's a quick
Janice Porter:way to touch base with someone. And it's timely as they may be
Janice Porter:celebrating a birthday or an anniversary, or a new job. And
Janice Porter:that's those are the things that you can choose from. And when
Janice Porter:you see those, push those. Notice push notifications that
Janice Porter:you have there, you can easily do what the options are to click
Janice Porter:on it and basically send a direct message to the person
Janice Porter:congratulating them. Or you can personalize it even more if you
Janice Porter:want to. Number two, when you have a video meeting with
Janice Porter:someone, you could take a quick screenshot, then post a
Janice Porter:screenshot, and even promote the person which shows that you're
Janice Porter:generous, you're a giver. And they will appreciate it as well
Janice Porter:as their audience will then hopefully see it as well. So
Janice Porter:here's an example of something I did just the other day, I did a
Janice Porter:podcast interview with one of my guests that's coming up, you'll
Janice Porter:probably hear it in the new year. And I took a screenshot of
Janice Porter:the two of us on Zoom. And I posted that on LinkedIn tab,
Janice Porter:tagging her in it and saying that I had a delightful time
Janice Porter:interviewing her today. And also at that time because when my
Janice Porter:interview comes, goes live, it will be past the date of this
Janice Porter:event that she's doing. I wanted to give her a little push for
Janice Porter:that. And so I said in that and you might want to check out her
Janice Porter:masterclass next week, blah, blah blah, and I know she
Janice Porter:appreciated it and it's just a nice gesture and a great post to
Janice Porter:do that. Number three it's a great time of year to reconnect
Janice Porter:with your existing LinkedIn connect Since perhaps doing a
Janice Porter:holiday campaign, how many connections do you have? When
Janice Porter:was the last time you reached out to them, taking the lead and
Janice Porter:sending a holiday message will put you ahead of the crowd. Most
Janice Porter:people don't even bother. They're too busy chasing new
Janice Porter:connections. You can do it yourself, or you can hire
Janice Porter:someone to do it for you. I have the perfect person who did mine
Janice Porter:last year. Let me know if you need help. And I'll introduce
Janice Porter:you, we came up with a message together and looked at my list
Janice Porter:of connections sorting who I really wanted to touch. Here's a
Janice Porter:sample message that I'm talking about. As the holiday season
Janice Porter:begins, I like to reflect and appreciate and mostly be
Janice Porter:grateful for the wonderful people in my life. I'm so glad
Janice Porter:we connected on LinkedIn, and all the possibilities that it
Janice Porter:brings. Please know I'm always here to help you succeed in any
Janice Porter:way possible. May you end 2023 on a high note, have a joyful
Janice Porter:holiday season. And a spectacular start into another
Janice Porter:year of life's awesome adventures. And happy new year
Janice Porter:to that's just a sample. And I encourage you to make your own
Janice Porter:message in your own words and tone and give it a go. You'll be
Janice Porter:surprised how many relationships you can rekindle from just that
Janice Porter:one strategy. Timing is everything as we know. And your
Janice Porter:message may just remind someone that the time is right now to
Janice Porter:work with you. I know that happened for me, I did rekindle
Janice Porter:a few relationships, I did get new business out of it. And I
Janice Porter:had people say, hey, it might be a good time now to take a look
Janice Porter:at what we were talking about last year. So let me know if
Janice Porter:that works for you. Let us know move now from LinkedIn, to cards
Janice Porter:cards that count. One of my favorite things to do at any
Janice Porter:time of year is send cards. I love to send unexpected
Janice Porter:heartfelt cards to celebrate, appreciate, inspire, and
Janice Porter:sometimes show empathy to people in my world. There's always a
Janice Porter:reason to send a card in my opinion. If you know me, you
Janice Porter:know that I'm affiliated with a company called promptings
Janice Porter:perfect name for this company, and use their system Send Out
Janice Porter:Cards, which makes it so easy as it is an online system. I have
Janice Porter:it on my desktop and my phone. So I can always send a card to
Janice Porter:someone. The beauty of it though, is that I send a real
Janice Porter:tangible touch card in the mail. Yes, old fashioned mail, because
Janice Porter:it does make a difference. Now, whether you use that very
Janice Porter:convenient system, which prints stuff, stamps and sins, or still
Janice Porter:go to the store to buy cars, handwrite them and mail them
Janice Porter:yourself. You're still in the minority, and I commend you.
Janice Porter:Most people don't do it at all. A lot of people today send an
Janice Porter:email or even a text to say thank you. I appreciate you. It
Janice Porter:was nice to meet you. Now I asked you does it have the same
Janice Porter:impact when you're on the receiving end? As it does when
Janice Porter:you receive an actual card? Trust me, you will stand out
Janice Porter:from the crowd, warm someone's heart and make their day when
Janice Porter:you send a real card. I don't know if you know this, but only
Janice Porter:3% of mail received today is personal and who doesn't open a
Janice Porter:greeting card. In the spirit of the season, I'd like to share
Janice Porter:this perspective shift with you by using an age old character
Janice Porter:from a Christmas carol Scrooge. Bah humbug. Scrooge was not a
Janice Porter:fan of receiving holiday cards until he understood why sending
Janice Porter:holiday greetings matters. While you may not have been an avid
Janice Porter:fan of sending holiday cards in the past, the impact of
Janice Porter:spreading joy can extend far beyond what meets the eye. And
Janice Porter:in a business. holiday greetings are a bonus hidden gem to build
Janice Porter:lasting relationships well into the new year. Do you want to
Janice Porter:remind someone of the shared moments you had this year? Send
Janice Porter:them a heartfelt holiday card. And if it includes a photo of
Janice Porter:the two of you even more of a bonus, want to add a personal
Janice Porter:touch to the relationships you build. Extend your warm wishes
Janice Porter:and gratitude during this festive season. Do you want to
Janice Porter:beat out your competition? Some people are still pretty
Janice Porter:competitive. So if you want to do that, create and pre program
Janice Porter:your cards to go out let's say the end of November 1 week in
Janice Porter:December, you're guaranteed to be there early. And when cards
Janice Porter:are they're early, they are on display longer and therefore
Janice Porter:more people see them so keep that in mind too.
Janice Porter:Huh Let's look at how to optimize your holiday greetings
Janice Porter:to strengthen connections and foster goodwill. Number one who
Janice Porter:deserves your holiday greetings, your clients, your colleagues,
Janice Porter:your friends and family are undoubtedly worthy recipients.
Janice Porter:But going overboard is unnecessary. Keep it genuine and
Janice Porter:heartfelt. And remember, it's about sincerity. So if it's
Janice Porter:overwhelming to you to do to send cars to everybody, pick the
Janice Porter:ones you really want to stay connected with. Number two, be
Janice Porter:efficient. I know you're busy. But automated does work just as
Janice Porter:well in our fast paced world and saves time and money. So when I
Janice Porter:said, have your cards go out by November 29, or the beginning of
Janice Porter:December, you can actually do them today with a system like
Janice Porter:the one I use and pre programmed them to go out on the day you
Janice Porter:actually want them to go out. Number three, do send them on
Janice Porter:time. Be prompt. The sooner you send your holiday greetings, the
Janice Porter:more you'll stand out and ensure your message is well received.
Janice Porter:holiday greetings are an excellent way to make someone's
Janice Porter:day brighter, strengthen your professional connections, and
Janice Porter:stay ahead of your competition. So don't procrastinate. And by
Janice Porter:the way, if you need any help, you know where I am. Here's one
Janice Porter:bonus thing I want to mention, though, about sending holiday
Janice Porter:cards that I often see kind of puts a sour taste in my mouth
Janice Porter:when I've had it happened to me and I have had it happen. So
Janice Porter:when someone sends when you're sending holiday cards, be
Janice Porter:careful that you don't make it self promotional. So here's an
Janice Porter:example. I received a very, very serious Christmas card one time
Janice Porter:from somebody who is religious and it had those connotations on
Janice Porter:the card. Inside the card. She had also included a Christmas
Janice Porter:letter, which is, you know, neither here nor there. But that
Janice Porter:was an extra piece. But the thing that actually got me was
Janice Porter:she included her business card in there as well. That really
Janice Porter:soured it. For me. It's not about business. This is about
Janice Porter:celebrating, showing you care at this time of year. So one thing
Janice Porter:you can do if you're using a system, or having cards printed
Janice Porter:is you could put a photo on the back one of your family of your
Janice Porter:kids, your pet something festive, which shows you in a
Janice Porter:completely different light than your connection may normally see
Janice Porter:you. Make it be about family be about celebrating, whatever, but
Janice Porter:not the focus on business. So that's it for now. I hope you
Janice Porter:took something away to incorporate into your holiday
Janice Porter:rituals. We'd love to know drop me a line if something really
Janice Porter:resonated with you. My wish is that you examine the business
Janice Porter:relationships that made a difference to your journey this
Janice Porter:past year, and reach out to express gratitude and show some
Janice Porter:love. Next week we'll take a look at ways to navigate your
Janice Porter:network in the busy holiday season. And keep you top of mind
Janice Porter:and so much more. See you then. Until then remember to stay
Janice Porter:connected and be remembered
