How do you maintain great relationships without burning yourself out?
Well, before I go into that, imagine these two scenarios…
You go on a date with someone. They make an over-the-top romantic gesture, professing their love in skywriting (complemented with a song they wrote about you). Then, you never hear from them again.
Now, imagine the completely opposite scenario:
The suitor would text you, saying hello once every two weeks, but without ever responding to your replies.
Some people think building great relationships implies making a big gesture– having to commit a lot of time and/or money. Others think following up consistently, for the sake of it, is enough.
The best way is to strike a balance between the extremes.
Here’s the key:
Relationships, professional and otherwise, require nurturing. This means little, thoughtful touches as opposed to too much too soon or too little too late.
How do you do that? Become a “Thank You Machine”.
Alex, a former employee at our company and now one of our professional collaborators, sums up the power of being a Thank You Machine:
“I spend 10 minutes 3 times a week endorsing my connections on the LinkedIn mobile app, which lets me endorse 60 people a week– people I actually know and believe to have these skills.
Instead of just willy-nilly clicking on skills they have (e.g., Microsoft Word or Powerpoint– I mean, c’mon!), I’m actively thinking about them, their well-being, what I can do for them, and how grateful I am to know them.
I believe this is what causes them to reciprocate– to think about me and how they can suggest good things for me without me needing to ask.
I merely clicked on a couple skills for Spencer Taggart, the Director of Marketing at LDS Business College, within the LinkedIn app– a lot less time consuming than writing out a recommendation, yet equally effective.”
And that “thank you” generated this:
See the power of many light touches over time to nurture relationships?
Now, there are various ways to say thank you, and the beautiful part is how easy you can do this at scale. We go over this in our Influence Generator Course.
PS – What are some of the ways that you say thank you? I would love to hear how you do it in the comments.
