The London rental property market is crazy right now. My eldest daughter has been trying to move out of our family home but landlords are making some unbelievable demands. Being a self-employed creative doesn’t help.
So when a friend gave her the ‘heads up’ that he was leaving his flat in east London, she thought this was her chance to steal a march on the competition. On seeing the apartment, her heart leapt. It was perfect.
She offered the rent being asked.
The problem was that the landlord had already advertised the flat and she was insistent that she should see that process through. Within hours there were queues to see the property. Day after day visitors came for viewings.
Then it got worse.
People started offering above the asking price! If that wasn’t enough prospective tenants started outbidding each other… My daughter was downcast. She couldn’t now afford to compete with them.
So I suggested she go ‘old school’, put pen to paper, write to the landlady, and tell her story. She followed my advice and delivered it by hand.
The result?
Not only did she get offered the flat but also at a lower price than the others had bid.
That’s a lesson for us all. It shows The value of standing out from the crowd and making the effort to connect.
None of this was in the least bit surprising to Janice Porter whose specialty is helping people build relationships on LinkedIn. The cornerstone of her approach is sending those you connect with cards in the post. This builds the relationship.
It may seem old-fashioned but it works.
Janice was a teacher before becoming a corporate trainer. When circumstances brought that to an end she had to reinvent herself. Tuning into her energy it was clear that her uniquely compelling quality (‘UCQ’) was a big-hearted drive to care. It was obvious she cares deeply about people.
In reinventing herself, she saw the importance of relationships in the business process. I asked why she felt that was the place she wanted to focus and she said it was because “It’s lost. So much of social media is not real. Even with texting, “Unless you’re really good at it” emotional connection is hard.
“You can cheat with emojis but it’s not the same as talking to somebody.”
So we dived a little into why it’s so pleasurable to receive a card in the post. Janice explained, “It's showing that you care and it's going that extra bit”. Let’s face it, these days, most people can’t remember when they last received a card or they’ve forgotten how lovely it is to receive something enjoyable like that in the mail.
And then she let me into a neat idea. “What I tend to do is, and it seems to work really well if I can find a photo of them on Facebook or LinkedIn, I will put that on the front of the card. I guarantee you, they will not throw that card away because their picture is on the front.”
Human nature. You have to laugh.
And when to send one?
Janice does a regular trawl through the posts of her contacts and if she notices that somebody is celebrating a new grandbaby or a new dog or something sad has happened, that’s her cue for a card. In her experience, “The unexpected card is way better.”
She finds that, time and time again, she sends a card to someone out of the blue and people will say, “Oh my goodness you have no idea that that card arrived just when I needed it.” They feel connected to and cared about.
So what to write? Janice advises: “I think it's important to try and show that you listened to them.”
And today I received my card. Cue to finish the article! It was, indeed, lovely to receive and took me back to the moment when we connected. And even though I had done the interviewing, I most certainly felt listened to.
If you want to find out more about Janice Porter you can find her at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janiceporter/
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