Mind Your Business: The Power of Thank You!

By Steve Michaels

January/February 2008

I have not received any questions for this issue so I will inject an old idea that has lots of significance and value.  I was chatting with a good friend over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and the subject of gift giving for their grandchildren came up.  I asked what their ritual was, and she said that she and her husband used to spoil the grandkids rotten with gifts every Christmas but after a few years of giving without ever receiving a thank you note, the ritual stopped.  They even asked their children why the grandkids never sent them a thank you note, as they were taught better than that.  The response was that the grandkids were too busy – too busy to send Grandma and Grandpa a simple thank you note after all the time it took to shop, purchase, wrap, and send them gifts.

We sold a rental home this year and the salesman who sold the house for us received a nice commission, but we did not receive a thank you note.  Nothing.  In the future if we sell any more property, guess who will not get the listing?  On the other hand, we treated ourselves to a new car this year, and we not only received a handwritten thank you note but also additional notes throughout the year asking how we liked the car and if there was anything else they could do for us to be of service.  Guess who will be greatly considered when we are in the market for another car?

Sometimes the smallest and simplest thing one can do to improve one's bottom line is to thank someone for their business.  At TAS Marketing we try to remember our clients, both the buyer and seller, with a gift or thank you note because when similar situations come up again, whom are they going to think of?  Plus, sending thank you notes is just a common courtesy. 

When you figure out the costs of adding a new client to your service and how easy it is to lose one, a simple thank you note does wonders. 

I would like to sincerely thank all those we have represented over this past year.  I would also like to thank those who called me with questions and allowed me to be of service – even if I did not make a commission – because I firmly believe in the old adage, "What goes around comes around."

May the New Year be full of blessings, business, and a great bottom line.        

Steve Michaels is a business broker with TAS Marketing and can be contacted at 800-369-6126 or tas@tasmarketing.com for questions.  His Website is www.tasmarketing.com.