Thank You Notes

Does your company send thank you notes?  If you meet a potential client whether the meeting ended in a sale or not, do you send them a note?  Craig Wortmann in his selling skills class vociferously advocates for thank you notes.  Short, to the point, and with a business card.  It’s like planting a seed that might sprout later.

At WLV, we always try to send thank you’s to potential LPs.  If we didn’t and you are reading this, my apologies.

It says a lot about you if you engage in this practice.  Are your customers just “meat on the hoof” or are you trying to build a long term relationship that is meaningful which helps them solve a problem?  Thank you notes help you change your perspective, reflect on the meeting, and convey an appreciation for someone’s valuable time.

It turns out, there is research around this.  Professor Nick Epley from Chicago Booth did some studies and found that if you inject a little gratitude into a relationship, it works better for both the writer and the receiver.  Turns out, the receiver values “hearing” a thank you in writing.  Epley also says, “Expressers significantly underestimated how surprised recipients would be about why expressers were grateful, overestimated how awkward recipients would feel, and underestimated how positive recipients would feel.”

Thank you notes are a win/win.  Use them.