GenXmanager: Leadership for the Generation X Manager

I’m starting a new series titled ‘Personal Branding: Winning Strategies’. Today, December 20, 2009 is the first such entry. Today I want to talk about thank you cards.

My New Year’s resolution is to start sending thank you cards. Yes, real paper thank you cards. Not an email thank you, a thank you tweet, or writing “thanks” on someone’s Facebook wall. I want to start mailing thank you cards.

Why handwritten thank you cards?

In today’s digital age it is possible to take the easy way out. If you want to say ”thanks” the easiest thing to do is open email, type up a short thank you message and click the send button. It takes much more effort to get a thank you card, handwrite a small message, sign it, stick it in an envelope, address it, put a stamp on it, and throw it in the mailbox.

The person receiving the card knows this takes more effort and will appreciate it. I’ve gotten two handwritten thank you cards in the past year. I remember who they were from and why he/she sent them. It makes a difference.

Get thank you note cards

Even if you work for an organization that has printed thank you stationary, I strongly encourage you to purchase your own. Why? You are thanking the person; not selling the company. You want to be certain that the thank you is genuine and not a sales pitch. However, the choice is ultimately up to you and in your specific case it might make more sense to use the company stationary.

Your thank you cards should be simple, professional, and preferably environmental friendly.

Handwrite your message and be specific

Even if you have sloppy handwriting, handwrite (or print) your thank you message. Don’t type it into Word and run it through the printer. Handwriting is more personal. In addition, be specific.

The right way: “Thank you for proofreading my report last week. You’re countless hours of dedication and attention to detail was greatly appreciated.”

The wrong way: “Thanks for the help with the report”

Be specific when saying thank you.

Be appropriate with the timing

Someone might do something amazing for you which causes you to send a thank you card immediately. There might be times, however, when someone does a bunch of little things and at some point you realize that a thank you card might be in order. Since a thank you card comes from the heart you’ll know the best time to send one.

Be prudent and authentic

Though sending thank you cards is a wonderful way to say thank you, don’t go overboard and don’t be robotic about it. A thank you card should be impromptu, authentic, and heart-felt. The recipient should feel “warm and fuzzy” inside and know that the “thanks” was authentic.

Say thank you; Don’t sell

As a follow-up to my last tip, the card should be about your thanks to the person; not a final sales pitch. Even if the person is a potential client, don’t sell. Separate the thank you from the sales pitch. Take a look:

Joyce, I really enjoyed our lunch yesterday. I want to thank you for the opportunity to meet you and I appreciate you sharing information about your department and organization.

I hope we can chat again soon.

Notice that there is no sales pitch. You acknowledged that the lunch was about business but you didn’t sell anything. However, a few days after sending the thank you note you should follow-up with a call to action. This second note, email, or phone call can be more sales focused.

The basic idea is to separate the thank you from the sales pitch.

Combine with email

There might be certain times when you want the person to get your thank you immediately (such as after a job interview). In these instances, send your email but make certain the written card goes in the mail soon afterwards. In addition, the email and the written thank you should be different. You don’t want to regurgitate what you sent in your email.

These are but a few tips for sending thank you cards. I hope the benefits of sending thank you cards to enhance your personal brand are obvious. These tips can be used by the full-time office worker and the entrepreneur for both business and personal relationships. Remember that your brand extends beyond just your business persona. Your brand is YOU!