The R.E.A.L. Connection System: How to Build Authentic Relationships in Business | RR344

Steve, welcome to a brand new year of the

relationships rule podcast. I am so grateful that you are here

with me today as we step into a new year with a renewed sense of

clarity and intention. This past holiday season reminded me, in a

very personal way, why I'm so committed to this work. As many

of you know, my husband had knee replacement surgery in November.

We expected a long recovery. We prepared ourselves for the

practical side of things. What we didn't anticipate was the

outpouring of kindness from people in our community. We were

so pleasantly surprised by how many people came to visit him.

Some were close friends, of course, but others were people

we hadn't seen or spoken to in years. These people who simply

wanted to show care and support, they their small gestures made

such a difference during a challenging time, and they

reminded me that connection does not always fade, even when time

passes. And they reminded me how deeply people value being

remembered. That experience brought me right back to the

heart of my work relationships. Relationships matter. They

matter more than algorithms, more than strategies and more

than perfect plans. They carry us, support us, open doors for

us and shape the opportunities that come our way. So today, as

we begin a new year, I want to walk you through my real

connection system. This is the framework I teach and the one

that consistently helps my clients build businesses rooted

in trust and long term relationships, R, E, A, l,

refresh, engage, appreciate, leverage. I'm going to go

through each one of these pieces with you, and we'll start with

the first one, refresh, refresh your presence. Refreshing your

presence means making sure your online identity reflects who you

are today, not who you were five years ago. I really recently

worked with a client who has two very well established

businesses. He's someone with a strong reputation and decades of

experience, but he hadn't touched his LinkedIn profile for

years. His world was changing, and he was transitioning day to

day responsibilities to his daughter, stepping into more

advisory role and opening up space to serve other businesses

through board directorship, none of that was reflected in his

profile. Together, we refreshed it, we updated his headline to

show this new direction. We rewrote the about section so

that it spoke to the value he offers today, not the version of

him from the past, and we clarified his experience and

highlighted his evolving role. Within days, guess what? He was

contacted by a recruiter that was exactly the outcome he

wanted. He needed his online presence to do the initial

positioning for him, and once it did, opportunities appeared

almost immediately a refresh is not about reinventing yourself,

it's about aligning your presence with your purpose. So

ask yourself, does your profile show the problems you solve?

Does it speak to your clients in their language? Does it

represent who you are now today? When you refresh your presence,

you open the door for the right people to find you. E engage

with intention. Engagement is where relationships begin to

form, and one of the most effective ways to engage is by

putting yourself in spaces where your people are already there.

Recently, I attended a community event hosted by a past podcast

guest of mine. It was warm, welcoming and filled with people

who were genuinely interested in learning and connecting. The

speaker turned out to be another perfect guest for my podcast who

I wouldn't have met if I hadn't attended that event, so you will

hear his passion and expertise on visual leadership very soon,

a really interesting topic, by the way. Not long after that, I

went to a mastermind style event where I didn't know most of the

people in the room. During the conversation, someone asked a

question about LinkedIn that led someone asked a question about

LinkedIn. That led to more questions, and soon I found

myself offering a few tips from my LinkedIn expertise, and

basically I had an audience there that I wouldn't have had

before, to give them some to share some tips and tricks with

them. That small act of contribution put the light on me

without me trying to stand out. It created new conversations,

new beginning relationships that I'm sure will continue into this

year. Engagement works the same way online. When you comment

thoughtfully, respond to people, share insight or ask questions,

you be. Become visible in a natural way. You build

familiarity. You show that you care about others, not only

about your own content. Choose a simple habit this year, maybe

attend one event each month where your ideal clients gather.

Spend five minutes a day engaging with people in your

network, either on LinkedIn, as I would do, or whichever is your

favorite platform, these small actions create momentum,

engagement done consistently builds relationships faster than

almost anything else. A appreciate people authentically.

Appreciation is where true connection is built. This is the

heart of everything I teach. A few months ago, I saw someone

post on LinkedIn who I hadn't spoken to in years. Her post

caught my attention, so I commented. Then I also sent her

a private message to say hello and let her know that her post

had made me think of her. Well, it turned out that she'd been

looking for someone to speak to her business organization about

the power of LinkedIn. She hadn't reached out to me because

in her mind, too much time had passed, but the minute I

reappeared, reappeared in her world. She booked me right away

for a session this month that happened simply because I

reached out with appreciation. And you never know. Here's

another story that illustrates the opposite side of this. A

friend of mine has bought and sold three homes in 15 years,

three transactions, three different realtors. You heard it

right, three different realtors, not because the first one did a

poor job, but because they didn't stay in touch. They

disappeared after the sale, and because of that, they were not

present when the next opportunity came around. On the

flip side, appreciation can leave a very lasting mark. Years

ago, I met someone at an event afterward, I sent her a card

with a photo of the two of us I had taken on the cover. She

still has that card on her desk today. She brings it up every

time we speak. That card made her feel seen and valued in a

way that digital messages do not always accomplish. Appreciation

is powerful because it is personal. It is memorable. It

shows effort. A text is nice, a comment is thoughtful, but a

physical reminder, a tangible touch card, a small gesture,

these create emotional anchors that people remember for years.

So this year, build appreciation into your regular rhythm. Send a

card each week, or even, May, dare I say, each day, record a

short video for someone. Acknowledge people privately,

not only publicly, send something tangible when it feels

right. Appreciation is not old fashioned. It is strategic in

the most human way. L leverage your relationships. Leverage is

not about using people. It's about recognizing the

opportunities that naturally grow from real connection when

you refresh your presence, when you engage intentionally and

when you appreciate people consistently, trust builds and

trust is what opens doors. Leverage shows up in referrals,

introductions, collaborations, testimonials, invitations and

new opportunities. It shows up when someone says, I thought of

you, or you should meet this person, or you would be perfect

for this project. The world of business is built on these small

moments of being remembered. The relationships that you nurture

today often become the opportunities that appear months

or years from now. So as you begin the year, think about

where you can offer value to your network. Who can you

introduce? Who can you collaborate with? Who can you

elevate? When you lift others, you strengthen every

relationship around you, and over time, your network becomes

a living, breathing source of support and opportunity. And I

say as an aside to that cherish your network, because as as it's

been said many times before, your network is your net worth.

And in closing, I want to encourage you to choose one

pillar of the real system to focus on, not all four at once,

just one, refresh your presence, engage with intention,

appreciate someone who made a difference to you, or gently

leverage a relationship that is ready for the next step. When

you lead with connection, everything else unfolds more

naturally and when you build your business from a place. Of

genuine care from the heart. You create a foundation that lasts.

If you want support implementing the real connection system in

your business, or you want more information about it, I'd love

to help you reach out and let's explore it together. Thank you

for joining me for this first episode of the year. I'm excited

for what is ahead until next time, stay connected and be

remembered. You.