Here’s another tip for strengthening the relationships around you:
Write down the birthdays of the people you care about (or want to get closer to).[[MORE]]
Have automatic reminders sent to your phone or email so you don’t forget to wish them a ‘Happy Birthday’ when the day arrives. People want to feel appreciated, like they are an integral part of their social and professional circles. An unexpected birthday greeting is the kind of move that encourages others to see you as more than a mere acquaintance.
Standing out from the crowd is one of the calling cards of exceptional performance in any area. They know you cared enough to remember their birthday, or at least thought enough of them to take the time to write it down. No matter how old we are, we still want to feel special on our birthday.
Extend that greeting via phone call or direct email.
Facebook’s birthday alert system, while useful, lumps you into the category of “people who only noticed my birthday because it appeared on their Facebook dashboard”.
Certain messages are best delivered directly and the recipient might wonder if you would’ve exerted the effort on your own. In an increasingly-impersonal world, there’s something to making the effort to remember a birthday without the help of Facebook that’s particularly endearing.
This birthday—or any date of note, like the anniversary of something important to the person—suggestion works just as well for professional contacts.
Business relationships go beyond the numbers. Our perceptions of even the most distant of acquaintances color our interactions. Few clients would expect such a personal touch from someone they’re working with and people love to do business with those we associate with something good.
If it makes dollars, it makes sense.
Life is all about relationship management, encouraging the reactions you want and discouraging the ones you don’t. When you begin with an end goal in mind, you facilitate creative, ‘win-win’-focused thinking.