Building relationships takes time.

As I’m out in the field with real estate agents talking about the importance of Social Networking, one of the common push backs  I get is this. “Well you don’t sell real estate so you have time to be on facebook all day, I’m busy and don’t have time for that stuff I have a business to run.”

I understand where the frustration comes from but the fact of the matter is your business is based all around the quality of relationships you maintain with your client base on an ongoing basis. I won’t deny that we live in a very busy world and that our time is precious. That said the numbers of individuals  who look to social networking to connect to get information and share information with their close friends are growing by leaps and bounds. A recent study I read talking about how we tend to trust those that are more like us.

So how do your 250 friends know how alike you are to them unless you interact on a regular basis. Keep in mind when I say interact I’m not talking about interacting with your friends on on a professional level  but more on a real basis. Friendships and relationships are not just about keeping in touch on a topical level but more about all the stuff that makes us who we are. Your hobbies, your interests, likes and dislikes. The deeper the connection the more comfortable people are to work and interact with you on all levels. How strong is that message when it is sent on a post card or on a calendar vs seeing a picture a few times a week of you enjoying a hobby that happens to be a hobby that 30 of your friends also enjoy. Or getting a link to a great article about whats going on in a specific community that you happen to live in along with 20 of your friends who also just read that link you sent to them. It is about getting involved and contributing value. Relationships don’t last if they are one sided. In order for relationships to exist you need to be involved so the point to my post is real simple. Embrace change and understand that Social Networking is here to stay and it can be a big advantage for you to enhance the current relationships that you don’t seem to have time for now, just by making micro connections through out your day. You might end up being surprised how much time it doesn’t take.

Similar idea from Amy Chorew “the conversation is important“