Once upon a time I was asked to share my top inside sales career tips. One of them is “tomorrow say thank you twice as often as you did today.”
In the daily activity of our sales lives, very often we forget to say thank you to our customers. For many of salespeople twice as often as today isn’t that big a deal (depending on how your day went yesterday, perhaps you are looking at thanking two people today).
Take a moment, take a breath, take the time to say thank you to your customers today.
Not the ‘thanks for your business’ generic message that they are used to hearing… that is about customer satisfaction. In today’s business environment satisfaction is NOT enough, it is the bottom rung on a ladder.
Instead think about what you enjoy about working with that individual person – thank them for that. Here are a few calls I’ve made:
- thank you for always making me laugh while we’re talking, it makes my day more fun
- I appreciate the trust you have in me to fix problems that come up
- thank you for pushing me to think outside of my typical offerings and create custom solutions that work for you
- I’m glad that our business relationship can include beer conversations too
- thank you for making me be my best when we work together
- I want you to know I enjoy the puzzles you throw at me and we solve together
See the difference? Pick something about the person and express your thanks for having them in your business world.
Write a LinkedIn Recommendation
If you‘re interested in taking it to the next level, what if you write a LinkedIn recommendation for them?
People are always looking to build their profile for credibility; having recommendations for the different positions you’ve had does just that. It gives people an outsider’s view of the job someone is doing or what it is like to work with them.
- Write down three words that describe what you appreciate about your business relationship then craft a recommendation around those ideas.
Tell Their Boss
Another crazy idea, tell their boss how much you like working with them.
I’ll never forget an email one of my customers sent my boss telling her that I was a sales superhero (along with the story of why). In fact although that was long ago, I still have a copy in a folder called “kudos” that I look at for inspiration when I’m having a bad day.
- Would it make your customer’s day to have their boss receive an email like that?
- What would make them look good in their boss’s eyes that happened in the last project you did together?
Write a Note
Another low tech, highly appreciated way to say thank you is to write a note on an actual card and mail it. Don’t complain about your hand writing, just take your time and write it out. Again make the message personal not generic.
- Pick a card that has an image you know they will enjoy
- Choose a colorful envelope that will stand out from their ‘business mail’
No matter how you choose to say thank you, the important thing is to do it. Expressing gratitude is an important, yet often overlooked, piece of any relationship. Make thanking your customers a daily habit.