Often our days are so busy that we put off keeping up with people in our lives. Although Social Media has made it easier, we often lose touch with important people in our lives (especially if they are not social-savvy!) If you are any older than 30, there’s a high degree of possibility that you have friends and relations that are NOT participating in the online social media scurry!
In a service-oriented business, you realize that in most cases, more than 80% of your clients are based on referrals… and those referrals are made because of your RELATIONSHIPS with others. If you’ve become whisked away with the ease and high touch of social media, you may need to revisit just how you’re getting in touch with those people who are not playing in the social media sandbox.
How are you staying in touch with others?
Before you know it, weeks turn into months and months turn into years – and it seems as though time passes more and more quickly as we age. Just the other day, I was reminded of the fact that I’ve been on Facebook for only six years, but have become rather lazy about keeping in touch with others who are not found there… Most specifically, I really don’t do anything fancy to reach out to some of my close friends and even two out of three of my brothers. It’s very easy to be calmed into a lull with social media and believe that you are spending time with people when you may just be surfing or commenting on your newsfeed. The illusion is that when I’m on Facebook, I’m actually spending time with others… when actuality, I’m not. Unless I’m having one to one chats with individuals, or sometimes chatting and posting within groups, I’m really not spending time with friends and family.
The truth is, that for whatever reason some of my family members, close friends from college and others simply have not created connections with social media, and I have simply lost touch over time… which is understandable, but not an excuse if I want to be current and relevant in their lives.
Our connections to others are so important in so many different aspects of our lives–friendships, business relationships, networking contacts, so it’s a good practice to take stock once in awhile and create steps to re-engage with those people that are important to you. It is even more important to take the added step to reach out individually to important people and key network connections when you can.
Do you have a few cherished relationships (business or personal) that you’ve let fall by the wayside? What can you do today that would make a difference?
Remember the phone and good old snail mail still work to connect to those with whom you’ve temporarily fallen out of touch. One of the easiest tools I’ve found to provide that ‘high touch’ with people is SendOutCards. I can send a personal greeting card and even add a gift to make it that much more special. If you want to check out how you can use this service as a great stay-in-touch business and personal tool, click this link to try out a free gift account on me!
[Tweet “How are you staying in touch with others? Doing this makes a difference.”]
Your Sanity Assignment:
Think of 3 people that you’ve been out of touch with for too long. Send an email or make a phone call for a quick hello. See how they’re doing and make a date to spend some quality time together catching up. You’ll make their day and will brighten your own as well. And who knows what will come out of it?
