Relationships are a game of give-and-take.

Sales can be a tough job, especially if, as George Carlin would have said, “you’re not doing it right, man!” Here’s something you can do that works that very few sales reps actually practice anymore: write notecards. A simple, handwritten, notecard can work magic like almost no other tool available and here’s why:

1. No one else is doing it!It’s just not “cool” anymore to handwrite a note. It’s old-fashioned, and it’s not “techy”. Then you have to actually find an envelope that fits, address the darn thing, and lick a real stamp. Too much trouble. Much easier just to send an email, but that’s why the email won’t work as well—everyone else is doing that, too. It’s not special if everyone else is doing it.I’ve been in prospects’ offices and seen my handwritten notecards taped to computer monitors! Never have I seen someone print out an email I sent them and post it.
2. It’s tangible.It’s material (paper) that the sender valued and embued with additional sentiments of their own. Then they thought enough of you to take the extra time, that most won’t, to mail it to you. That makes the delivery vehicle special. You can print out an email but it’s on a cheap piece of office copy paper that you provided! Not the same.
3. Only a chosen few will receive one.You never know when 300 of the sender’s closest friends may have just received the same thank-you email that you did. But everyone knows that handwritten notes are a one-off proposition. That makes you special.

Find a good printer, (I know one, right here!) have some really nice fold-over notecards printed. Get some envelopes to match and write some well-crafted thank you messages to your best customers, after an especially successful appointment, etc. It’ll pay off in spades.

Got any stories of your own involving handwritten notecards you’d like to share?

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Phillip Crum is the Chief Idea Officer of MarketingMeasure located at 2414 Arbuckle Court Dallas, TX 75229, and is committed to the idea of helping small business owners do a better job of finding their next customer or client. He and his two sons,Tyler and Preston, also own a Sir Speedy Printing franchise and employ those additional capabilities in the overall marketing services menu of offerings. Phillip can be reached at 214-213-7445, or pcrum@MarketingMeasure.com.