There has been a lot of challenges for people over the last few years. How do we get out of a bad mood or out of chaos when we find ourselves in that space? Anxiety comes when we see a negative outcome ahead. We have to make a shift and change our mindset to what is going on around us and come out better on the other side.
Let me share a story about a single mom on welfare that was struggling to find her confidence and courage. She did not feel like there was a lot to be thankful for and since Thanksgiving is right around the corner this is a good time to share this story.
This young mom had gotten married right out of high school at 18, had a son at 19, and found herself getting a divorce at 20. Life felt a little bleak. Suddenly she had found herself feeling like there was nothing to be thankful for and her self-confidence had taken a big hit. Have you ever taken a big hit and found yourself in an unhealthy mindset?
The young mom began looking for ways to say thank you to people so she could find ways to be thankful in her life too. She was writing out checks to pay her bills one month and decided that instead of crying because it seemed like there was never enough to get the bills paid that she had to be thankful that she had electricity and a roof over her head. So as she wrote the checks she started writing “Thank You” in the memo line on the check.
Over time she took pieces of notepaper and wrote bigger “Thank You” and included these small yellow pad pages with her bills. She didn’t think much about the impact she was making, it was a way to help her grow in her life.
Anyone else had days when you did something for someone else but really it was for you?
She really just needed to pick herself up in life after a hard fall. Let me finish her story. The young mom continued to add these little notes to every check she wrote to pay a bill.
One day many years down the line when life was much better financially, she returned from traveling and realized she had a shut-off notice for one of her bills. She went down to pay her bill personally to make sure the service stayed on for her family. As she went up to the counter to pay the bill a yellow piece of paper caught her eye. It was one of her handwritten thank you notes on a bulletin board behind the bill collector. As she gladly paid her late bill she said to the gal taking her payment, “I know where you got that thank you note” she looked back and said, “really where”? The young mom stated, “I sent it in with my bill.” The gal behind the desk jumped up and started calling her co-workers over to the counter pointing at the gal and said “she’s the one who sends the yellow notes”. That day the young lady received a reward greater than sending the notes in the mail. She was told by the workers that no one ever sends thank you notes when paying their bills. Each month they would distribute the yellow thank you notes to everyone in their department until everyone had a thank you note from the one person who sent them. Not only had this young mom improved her outlook on life she had helped others too.
This story is a basic story of why a thank you is important. It is good for the sender as well as for the receiver.
Thank you in business is very important. When someone does a job well done a thank you note should be sent, left behind, or given.
What will make you stand out from everyone else who does what you do? What will keep you in the mind of your customers and clients?
A personal note!
A thank you note is something that helps you say that you appreciate someone’s business, time, attitude, and what they are doing for you. What might happen if you sent an irate customer a thank you for bringing an issue to their attention? Or for their feedback even if you do not take their advice! You can brighten someone’s day with a sudden surprise. As simple as a note in the mail!
You can start small like I did because I was the young mom who had lost her confidence and needed to shift my thinking. Send a thank you in with your bills or to your vendors. You already have to pay them! Anyone that you have an address for could get an annual thank you note. Thanksgiving is this month! Why not send out cards to say thank you for being a part of your business, your success, or your support. They will brighten the day of your contact.
You want to keep your name at the tip of your customer’s tongue. If you send thank you notes or notes of encouragement you will be the name that pops into their head when someone else is looking for what you do. You can turn a one-time customer into a lifelong client just by personalizing it with a thank you. I work with clients to create systems that make business quick and simple. I now use a system to send out my cards online too. Find ways to say thank you and you will win and so will they. Don’t be so busy or so down that you don’t say thank you.
· Say Thank You in person – As often as possible, express your gratitude in a few kind words and a handshake.
· Say thank you in an email- If you do not have a mailing address use this
· Say thank you with a text – younger generation
· Say thank you with a card – If you have an address this is the best way to go.
· Say thank you with a call – Talking to people helps them connect with your heart
Think of your customers and clients as your brand ambassadors. Because you say thank you they are likely to remember you when people are looking for your services.
It makes people feel valued, feeds their engagement, and brings new flows of referrals, thus increasing ROI for your business.
Complaining customers aren’t particularly those who you’d like to thank to, but do it. With the gratitude, message can also ask a question like: how do you think I can do better next time? And it’s two birds with one stone, you receive feedback and you increase loyalty with difficult customers.
It’s easy to show your appreciation. Give the client a call and say you’d like to stop by. This will give you the opportunity to thank the referrer in person, which will have the most impact. Bring a thank you card and a small gift.
Create a system in your business and sit down weekly and send out thank you cards to any and all new contacts, customers, and referrals.
Even if a referral does not work out to your advantage you want to thank the referee anyway!
Saying thanks to employees has several benefits. You build staff loyalty (and we all know how much turnover can cost in time, money, and stress). And you increase productivity, which leads to customer greater satisfaction.
Yet few managers or business owners bother. They say about 10% of employees report that supervisors who say a daily “thank you” for a job well done, according to a recent nationwide poll. More than half of employees said they were thanked never, seldom