Soul Proprietor - Keeping in touch

I know you’re busy. Entrepreneurs are rarely idle. (Believe me, I know.)

Between clients, tech crap, paperwork, and all the other millions of things to do on your to-do list, it can sometimes feel like one big ole hamster wheel.

That constant motion may leave little time for keeping in touch with your peers and clients (not to mention family).

In fact, correspondence may be the last thing on your mind most days. Even dealing with emails may feel more like one more tedious chore to check off.

So you let that pile up.

And people begin to wonder if you’ve fallen off the face of the earth. Or, more likely, they assume that you are blowing them off.

Most heart centered business owners are excellent communicators. But even they can sometimes get overwhelmed and fall behind.

Staying on top of your communication is vital if you want your business to continue to thrive.

Here are a couple of tips to help you touch base, follow up, and keep your business relationships happy:

Don’t keep people hanging. Respond quickly to emails. Even a “hey, I got your email and will get back to you by Friday” is better than nothing at all.
For most emails, keep them short – a maximum of three lines.
Encourage people to keep their correspondence with you brief as well. Let people know that you don’t have time to read novels. This will save you a lot of time.
If someone sends you a nice note, a quick thank you or you’re welcome is a kind gesture.
Get pretty stationary and, on occasion, send out hand-written notes to clients or colleagues. This is always a classy touch. Everyone loves snail mail! I like to sit down and do a bunch all at once.
Make sure you have a newsletter for your business so that you can stay in front of your clients. You can use a service such as Aweber, which will allow you to create a nifty opt-in box to gather email addresses. Be consistent! At least once a month, you’ll want to put together a newsletter chockfull of useful content.
Return phone calls in a timely manner. You can always batch calls and take care of them in one sitting if you need to. If time is an issue, make sure you let people know upfront how much time you have to chat.
Sometimes, you may have a pesky person who tries to pick your brain (aka get a freebie). In those cases, you’ll want to be upfront and let them know that you do not have time for that. Direct them to your paid services page and let them know that they can schedule time with you if they need to.
Social media can be an easy way to give a shout out or say hi to fans or peers. Use it well.
If you keep track of your client’s birthdays, you may want to send out a quick card or email. You can even include a little coupon of some sort.
Always be quick with a thank you. That includes thanking people for their time or consideration (ex: If you send out a book proposal and it gets rejected, send a thank you anyways. It’s good business manners.).
Keep canned responses and scripts handy for emails that require the same response over and over. This will save you loads of time. Need some handy scripts for sticky business situations? Check out Yolanda Facio’s What to Say, How to Say It: Scripting the Perfect Business Response
Always be kind. Even if you are dealing with a not-so-nice situation, keep your compassion hat on.

These simple habits allow you to stay in touch and still manage to keep plenty of time free for other things. Little efforts show your clients and peers that they matter. And that’s what it’s all about: treating every relationship like it is important. Because it is.

Blessings!

Theresa