I remember when I finally understood I was supposed to followup with people on a regular basis… networking is about nurturing relationships, right?
What about the person you haven’t communicated with for years? What do you followup with them about? You might sound to pushy, with an agenda (“btw, please help me find a job!”) or you might sound to empty (“just writing to say hi, even though it’s been five years. Okay, bye now!”).
That’s why I LOVE birthdays… it’s a great opportunity to reach out with no strong agenda, but also without being empty.
I have birthday reminders set up in JibberJobber and get an email on the day someone is having a birthday. It brings me a bit of festive joy when I know someone is having their special day, and I hope that sending them a happy birthday email (cuz I’m an email-kinda-guy :)).
Aside from the birthdays I have for my contacts in JibberJobber, I also get notices on Facebook and from Plaxo. In addition, when I look at my Twitter stream I sometimes catch a “happy birthday to ______!” I usually take the info from Facebook, Plaxo or Twitter and put that into JibberJobber, so I’m sure to get a birthday reminder email next year.
Consider birthday networking as part of your relationship nurturing strategy – just a simple but genuine message can help you maintain those relationships!
More on birthday networking with JibberJobber at these two posts:
Happy Birthday, Jason! 🙂 I agree and learning to make contact on people’s birthdays and special events using FB or Twitter is part of nurturing relationships. I don’t always do that well, I’m not good at cards either but I am working on all of those small touches. I know I appreciate that extra personal touch.
I think in this day and age, e-mail and Facebook happy birthday messages are appreciated.
Take care and as I said on FB, have a great day with your family!
Ahh. You and I are very alike. I love email cards (both sending and receiving). And thank goodness for Plaxo. I don’t use it for much other than the birthday reminders, but those rock. And made sure I didn’t forget you today!
Yes..birthday reminders are great, but I also found that THANKING people who wish you a Happy Birthday can lead to business. I just had this happen to me today. 🙂
Hope you have a great b-day, too.
And a happy birthday to you, Mr. Jibber Jobber extraordinaire!
We forget that networking is simply communicating and helping others. Doing the birthday wish helps us remember we are there to help. Good post.