A Christmas card or quaint present won’t have a lasting impact. Whilst it came from you, it’s not of you. Therefore, the gratitude attached to it by the recipient is far less. And in those unfortunate times when business relationships become strained, those trinkets are unlikely to be remembered.
“I’m sorry your order is a month late but remember that Christmas card? That was a beauty, eh?”
Yeah… that’s not gonna work.
Conversely, have a look at the list below. As the list descends, so does the value attached to it by the recipient increases. There will be differences of opinion on the order but the central point remains…
The more you give of yourself, the stronger the relationship will be.
- Facebook Business Page Like, share or comment.
- LinkedIn endorsement.
- If you run a paid webinar, let them hook in free – you’re going to run it anyway!
- Publically spoken testimonial.
- Publically posted testimonial.
- Introduce them to a Key Person of Influence in their target market.
- Donate a gift card for your services in a fundraiser they are running to support a charity.
- Hook into a free webinar they may be running – they’d love the support! And while you’re there make sure you interact.
- Offer to volunteer at their favourite charity for a day.
- If you feel it’s appropriate, offer to mentor one of their staff members for a short time. The insight into their business it will give you could be quite valuable.
The list above requires you to give one of your most valuable commodities – time. That’s why it works. Everyone understands the value of time.
And perhaps there’s another issue…
Some of the items on the list will also require you to step outside your comfort zone. So get selfish and do those things first! After all, that’s the beginning of some personal growth.
