First Step Marketing

‘The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get to the office.’

As was said earlier, always write to thank everyone who has helped you: the person who sent you the company’s annual report and promotional literature, the gatekeeper who helped you get the appointment, the person you met with and anyone else in the organisation who referred you.

Tell those who were not at the meeting how it went, thank them and, if another action has resulted, write to tell them how that turned out. Think how often you have helped other people and how sometimes (often?) the silence afterwards was deafening.

Vary your thanks. It is all too easy to send a typed note on a company letterhead. All that is required is a signature, an envelope and a stamp. There must be many millions of these going around the world daily, achieving little in the way of impact.

You can make sure your thank you will be remembered if you do it in a way that shows you really noticed the kindness and assistance received: you can send a handwritten note-card.

If you are not sure that your handwriting is easy to read, use a calligraphy pen instead. Practise the calligraphy strokes with the help of the instruction leaflet. The improvement will be extraordinary. The pens can be bought at any stationers. Be sure to get one with a refillable bladder, not just the small plastic cartridges that _run out quickly.

Buy good quality ink in a businesslike colour such as blue or blue-black. Pure black looks a little grim for thank-you notes. Do not use different colours such as brown or green, as they are not acceptable in business. Lately I have found felt-tipped calligraphy pens, and they are the best. But be sure to buy several at a time (they are under R10) because they suddenly run out.

Look around for memorable note-cards; the kind that are blank inside. You can find these at a bookstore, museum or art-gallery bookshop. Make sure they look so attractive that people will hesitate to throw them in the wastepaper basket. I found some Japanese lacquer screen cards in black and gold at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. They cost no more than other quite ordinary cards but looked much more special. Even a year later, these cards were still on display when I visited certain offices.

Keep a big box of your memorable cards close by. Try to choose cards that appeal to both men and women or have a box for each. Make sure the cards are congruent with the image of your company you want people to receive. A few minutes and a few cards later, you will have added considerably to the memories of your meeting.

The moment you feel a thank you is due, handwrite a card and send it off. It’s like paying your bills; you get a wonderful feeling of: ‘I’ve done it and it’s out of the way.’

And remember that you can use this technique with prospects and clients when you have been unable to reach them by phone, just to say, ‘Sorry I missed you, I’ll be in touch within three months.’

Consider sending postcards to clients and ‘warm’ prospects when you are away on business or on holiday. I send one to the client and one to the gatekeeper, with my contact details and the date of my return. I will already have given the details to both, but a bright card has more impact and is easier to find than the original note. To prospects the message is simpler: ‘I am away, but will be in contact when I get back.’

Do you find it difficult to say thank you in a way that shows genuine appreciation? It can be as difficult to say thank you in a sincere way as it is to leave a message on an answering machine. Those of us who are usually competent with business language sometimes disintegrate when we have to write a card or leave a clear message on a machine.

Nevertheless, it is important to personalise your thank you and this is not difficult to do if you use this simple technique: set up a mental picture of the person you’re going to contact and prepare a message as though they were standing in front of you.

Now it will be easier for you to say or write, ‘You were very kind and I appreciated your time and patience. Thank you for your help.’ Or even, ‘Thanks, you were great. Much appreciated.’