One of the first things I learned about selling was to never forget to send a written “thank you” note for the order. We all know that when selling space there are generally a good number of contacts that helped generate the insertion order and all them should receive a personal note of thanks. One of the ways to make “thank you” notes a weekly standard practice is to send a copy of the issue in which the client ad runs, with an attached note that is short but illustrates how much you appreciate the business. This was a practice that every rep who worked for me was encouraged to use. There is no doubt that this helped to build relationships but more importantly it served as a reminder that the customer order should never be taken for granted.If you begin to make this a weekly habit, it will also work as reminder for you to send a note of thanks to those that included you on the invitation list for any number of client or industry functions. How many times have we been invited to a client hospitality event at an industry conference and failed to send a thank you note? Whenever any of our publications invite attendees to an event, we can probably count on one hand the number of people who remember to send a thank you note for being invited. Generally, the note comes from the same folks and we never fail to appreciate their thoughtfulness. If you make hand written “thank you” notes a part of your routine, you too will be remembered for your thoughtfulness and caring attributes.
Another way to say thanks to event sponsors or multiple page advertisers is to have a fruit/snack basket delivered to the hotel rooms or offices during industry events. I can’t begin to tell you the number of times this small gesture was warmly received by clients and how much this helped make the next sponsorship sale easier.
I’m certain that many of you can share some of the ways you’ve shown appreciation and thanks to a client’s schedule and/or sponsorship. Let us know what has worked for you and the ways you remembered to give thanks.
Keep making those calls,
Tony
2 comments:
Tony,
I agree with you 100%. Don't email a thank you....send the note. It shows you took the time to personally send them a thank you!
I even send them to the receptionist...they will always put you throught when you need to!
A week or so back, I had to contact the person at the client who was handling the creative. Well, we were tight to deadline and this person stayed late to get us the materials. I sent him a candy bar with a thank you....boy or boy he said no one has ever sent him a thank you. Usually, they are just complaining about late ads.
Also, don't forget to send an internal thank you to someone who has helped...billing, production, circulation, etc....Without these people the wheel doesn't go around.
Just think about how good you feel when someone says "Hey Thanks".
Merp,
Thanks for the reminder on this one. Its easy to stop doing the small things like sending a "thank you" card but in the end it separates us from the (majority) reps that don't utilize this tactic.
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