Can You Imagine 50 People a Day? Friends, They May Think It’s a Movement*

I’m putting on my brown heels, checking my appointments for the day, looking for some work I brought home, and grabbing some thank-yous to send later. No, I’m not, because I’m out of them. My daughter appears to be doing nothing, so I say, “Honey, could you write Mama a Post-It that says “thank-you notes” and stick it on my notebook so I remember to grab some later?”

Thank You Knowt

“Thank You Knowt”

Unusual, I know. She’s gifted. It kinda grabbed me, and I started thinking about thank-you knowts.

Write them often. No, not emails. No. You can have them custom printed for very little, or just go buy some high-quality, traditional ones at the office store nearest to you. Then find an excuse to write a few every week. BY HAND. I used to work with a guy who giggled (literally) every time he sent them, because he had learned the more they went out of “style,” the more they actually became something people talked about, passed around, and something that drove word-of-mouth for him. I hear it all the time: “I haven’t gotten a thank-you note for years,” people tell me.

What do you write?

Thank you (for your time, effort, referral… whatever) NOTE: be timely! Don’t wait a week to do this!

A recap of what your favorite part of the (time, effort, etc.) was

The reason you will keep in touch

And another thing… something special to let them know you’re thinking of them

This may seem like basic info, but maybe you didn’t have a Mom like mine to drill this into you (repeatedly). If you did, have you written one since great-aunt Sally’s blue and yellow striped scarf in 1982?

Dear Joe,

Thanks for helping out at the charity auction last night. The way you showcased the furniture really drove bids and increased the take for XYZ tremendously!

I’ll send you pictures from the blah-blah conference next week. You’ll be missed! I hope you have a great time skiing at Okemo.

Regards,

Jane

This isn’t a trick to increase business, and it can’t be faked. You already do take a sincere interest in customers, prospects, and colleagues. This is remembering details long enough to write them down, to let someone feel the appreciation you already have for him (or her). The only “trick” is the delivery method: the good old postal service. It’s a standout method, and it works. If enough of us write them, people may think it’s a movement, and that’s what it is. It’s one more touchpoint, for you to create Maximum Customer Experience.

Ten minutes later, overcoat on, picking up notebook, the conversation followed the Post-It:

Me: Honey, how do you spell ‘note’?

She: N-O-T-E.

Me: Then why did you write, K-N-O-W-T?

She: Oh. *giggles* I don’t know…

I love that kid. She cracks me up. I’m gonna go write her a thank-you, and send it. She loves getting mail.

Grow and be well,

Kelly Erickson

 

*With apologies to Arlo Guthrie.  :)

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