Are You Using The Personal Touch?

I had to share with you an email I just received from a subscriber on my home organization email list.

“Oh gosh Mridu, what a wonderful surprise – I honestly wasn’t expecting a reply from you – and such a lovely one at that! I know how busy you are so to spend time in sending me a message is truly appreciated….”

And she went on and on for another two paragraphs.

This was in response to a quick response I had sent her about a note she sent me. (Try saying that 3 times fast). 😉

This is the power of your personal touch.

I don’t know if my sweet friend will ever purchase anything from me and quite frankly, I don’t care. I LOVED getting her message, I know I made her day and she in return made mine. And we’ve built a trust and a true friendship.

Although I write a lot about creating systems, processes and automations, I wanted to remind you of the power of your personal touch.

Ultimately, your biggest ambassadors are the people with whom you’ve made a personal connection.

These are the people who write you back, forward your messages and refer you to their friends.

These are people who open up your every email, sing your praises and respond to your videos.

Nothing and no one can replace YOU from making those really personal relationships.

And if you’re new to business or don’t have a giant list yet, GUESS WHAT?

You’re in the THE BEST PLACE to take advantage of your more modest following.

You have the ability to personally reach out to prospects, clients and fans on a one-to-one basis, just to say hi, follow up or see what they’re struggling with.

So as you are growing your business and career be sure to make time for this every single week.

Ok, so now I get into the productivity part of this. (I couldn’t resist).

Here are two ways to make your personal touch more efficient.

Because as much as we’d like to write personal notes to everyone who engages with us, we do have businesses to run.

#1: Batch your personal responses.

If you’re responding to several of these emails everyday, schedule one block of time (20-60 mins.) to respond to them all at one time. If you only need to do this a couple times a week, block one or two times during the week (rather than doing it daily). This way you’ll stay in flow, keep your train of thought and get through them much faster.

#2: Create a general template.

Chances are you’ll be responding very specifically to these emails but there’s usually some general language you could use in most of them, so create a “response” template.

For example, you might start each email with:
“Thanks so much for your message xx. I appreciate the time and effort you took to write to me.”

And you might end with:
“Thanks for all your support. I’m looking forward to staying connected. Best, xx”

Have these templates ready so you can just cut and paste when you need to.

Seems like a really small time saver and the truth is, it is. BUT, many little time savers over the course of the day add up to a LOT of time. So never underestimate the value of a small hack. 😉

To sum things up:

#1: Be sure to create personal relationships with people who reach out to you. (This could even be signing up for your email list).

#2: BUT…use your time efficiently so you can continue to do more in less time. 

Have you ever been surprised or delighted by a response you’ve received to your personal touch? I’d love to hear about it over in the comments below.

Here’s to getting more of the right things done!

Xo,
Mridu