Use a Professional Thank You Note, to Stand Out
This week, the U.S. celebrates Thanksgiving. If you’ve been with me for awhile, you know that the 4th Thursday in November, is my annual excuse to talk about professional thank you notes. And this year is no exception.
Afterall, this year, it’s imperative for your business to stand out. The most differentiating way for small businesses to do just that is through personalization and relationships. And thank you notes are a simple, thoughtful, and inexpensive vehicle to deliver your brand’s personal touch.
Growing up, my mom taught <cough: forced upon> me, the art and discipline... of the thank you note. Christmas break wasn’t over until the cross-check between gifts and thank you notes was complete. Writing 10-20 thank you notes in a week caused major hand cramping to my chubby little girl fingers, and I didn’t enjoy it. Until I did.
Over the years, as emails became the norm and texts replaced phone calls, I grew into this ritual. These days, it’s therapeutic and slows my mind. And as good old fashioned snail mail (that’s not junk) shows up in the mailbox less and less, I think of the thrill for someone to check their mail and find something beautiful and personal, just for them. Someone recently wrote me a note, containing two sentences:
Your kindness, thoughtfulness & attention to detail are just a few of the things I appreciate about you. Ok, you’re really good with money & fashion… I like that too.
My heart is still aflutter with this sincere and silly personal recognition.
When I started my career, I translated the thank you note habit to my corporate life. I’d send professional thank you notes all the time: certainly after interviews but also to bosses, mentors, and sponsors.
When I worked in global strategy and was deployed across the world to complete projects for various divisions and geographies, I always ended my visit by sending a thank you note to our company’s country president. I thanked them for hosting me, lending their team to my mission, and shared a little cultural tidbit I learned during my visit. I was always shocked by the follow-ups I received in response from these powerful men. My humble little thank you note seemed to really engage them – and helped me stand out in their mind. I became regularly tapped for new, exciting assigments – including my 2014 move to London.
Now that I’m in an even more personal line of work, I unsurprisingly think the professional thank you note, when personal and thoughtfully written, continues to be such a tool for good. I use any excuse to write one, averaging at least one per week (bien sûr on Ellevated Outcomes custom stationary).
Soon, I’ll share a few more ideas of saying thank you… to your referral sources. I can’t emphasize enough: in a world that is speeding up, scaling, and going even more digital… offline, personal, and authentic “I see you and know you” outreaches will differentiate you. Not to mention: spread kindness, thoughtfulness, and care. It seems like a business no-brainer to me.
