A simple thank-you card may not sound like going the extra mile. To many people, however, it truly is. The old-fashioned, personalized, handwritten thank-you card has been largely replaced by e-mail. When was the last time you received a traditional, handwritten thank-you card? What was your reaction? If you’re typical, you were pleasantly surprised, and you appreciated the sender’s time and effort.
If you don’t think you have time to write a thank-you card, think again. How many times have you found yourself sitting in the car with your kids, waiting for the school bus, riding the train to work, eating lunch alone, waiting forever in the doctor’s office, or sitting in a 10-mile-long traffic jam?
Grab hold of a few of these time fragments and use them to strengthen a networking relationship with a personal touch by writing a thank-you card to someone who has given you a referral, made an in-person introduction, helped with an event or solved a problem for you. Just remember: Never, ever include your business card, because the minute you include your business card, it becomes about you and not about thanking the other person.
Every time you make a personal connection, you are networking. So why not store some blank cards and stamps in your car and in your briefcase? That way, when you do find those few minutes of underutilized time, you’ll have a card ready to write on and drop into the next mailbox you see.
OK, OK, so you just won’t do a handwritten card no matter what I say. Then take a look at SendOutCards.com. They allow you to send out a card that “looks” handwritten but can be done from your computer and sent through the mail. This is a great service for the “handwriting impaired,” like me. I highly recommend the service.
This entry was posted on Monday, October 6th, 2008 at 6:00 am and is filed under Business, Connections, Giving, Ivan Misner, Marketing/Sales, Networking, Networking Education, Networking Prep. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.12 Responses to “Send a Thank-You Card”
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October 6th, 2008 at 6:21 am
Hie Ivan,
We forget sometimes about how a simple thank you card can make a huge impact.
I will make it a goal formmyself to send more of those cards this will improve my personal conection with my clients.
Thanks
Michel Richer
Hombyz.com
October 6th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Ah, yes- the handwritten thank you note- it is becoming rarer and rarer. This is a POWERFUL tool to help grow relantionships. I use them a lot after I meet someone for the first time. I’ll send them a short note saying it was great meeting you, etc. I include a positive quote at the bottom (personalized, if possible). So few people still do this, it helps you stand out from the rest of the crowd. They will appreciate the time you took to drop them a line. As for Send Out Cards, this is a tremendous service where you can send a card with the click of your mouse! My wife loves SOC. There is no substitute for the “personal touch”. So send out some notes as you go along in your networking activities- you’ll impress others! Shawn McCarthy BNI ED Ventura County, Ca.
October 7th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
I am a sender of cards, thanks to my friend and business associate, Steve Wein. To Dr. Misner’s point, Send Out Cards makes this very, very simple. I would suggest connecting with Steve at http://www.sendoutcards.com/mn to learn more about the true power of a thank you card!
October 7th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
I am a great believer in the personal touch and send thank you cards and flowers to my clients regularly. Clients are almost excited that a personal message/gift has been sent to them and this leaves a great impression of caring and selflessness. This is almost guaranteed to end in another order and great word of mouth recommendations soon follow. I encourage everyone to try it. Not only do you please your clients but you feel great doing it!!!
October 8th, 2008 at 3:42 am
Thanks for reminding me of what I know I should be doing. Sometimes we get so busy helping our member to get the best out of their investment in BNI that we forget to do the simple things ourselves. I know all about “Thank You” cards as one of my previous careers was with Hallmark Cards. I am back on it from now.
Thanks Ivan
October 8th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
SendOutCards is a great product. In fact, we have a SendOutCards rep in our BNI group. She has given us so much information about her product and it is very impressive. I would recommend that everyone check it out as a wonderful resource and a great way to stay in touch with your contacts and your past customers.
October 9th, 2008 at 9:56 am
I must say that this old fashion technique is very much up to date. Tom Hopkins built his business sending thank you cards and so did the greatest salesman of the world Joe from Detroit! This is truly a great way to save time and money with the SendOutCards system. A friend of mine, Devin introduced me to this and I have been grateful ever since. If you want someone to teach you how to use it I recommend contacting Devin http://www.SendingCardsDaily.com
Dr. Misner much kudos to your book as it is very informative and fabulous. Job well done!
-Donald
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:02 am
This is a really interesting blog post,I have added your blog to my favourites I really like it,keep up the good work!
October 24th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
I agree Send Out Cards is an excellent marketing tool.
Luis Garcia
(540) 320-1045
October 24th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
More about Send Out Cards and Greeting Card Marketing here:
http://www.PostOutCards.com.au
November 6th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
I think this a great way to show appreciation but I also have a question is it to much to send a business thank you card?
November 11th, 2008 at 6:25 am
Send Out Cards is a great opportunity for anyone to fully realize their dreams, and it a great Marketing Tool for businesses! My wife & I are on Social Security, and we truly believe this is the way for us to live our retirement as we should. This is an HONEST Company, with honest, hard-working people! See what we mean by going to http://www.sendoutcards.com/58877, and “Take The Tour!”