As sales and marketing advice goes, this may very well be up there with the best of it. This is a BIGGIE. Tune in.
I ended a recent webinar with what I consider to be some sage advice. To me, what I am about to suggest is both logical and extraordinarily simple. It is effective and incredibly apropos. It does not cost a penny and the results are extremely powerful.
The truth is however, that nobody can do what I am about to suggest without feeling uncomfortable to some degree. This last sentence, in and of itself, may explain why there are not more successful travel-related sales professionals in the United States today.
I challenged my audience on this particular day to pick up their telephones as soon as our meeting was over, and call a prospect, customer, or the first person who came to mind to simply thank them for something. I reminded them not to get cute, fancy or eloquent. I urged them to act on this assignment immediately before all of the worthless, inappropriate, nonsensical excuses had a chance to take over their thought process.
The assignment was simple and straightforward. “Call somebody up to say “thank-you.” I then ended the webinar and went to lunch.
Upon my return, there were two emails waiting for me as a result of my earlier challenge. Both emails were happily reporting their results from reaching out to their clients. In both instances, they decided that the email route was the way to go. (It certainly was the easy way to go, but it certainly was better than doing nothing.) In sharing their success stories with me I noticed a disturbing trend. They were both hesitant in saying thank you to me. One mentioned in her email, “I hope this isn’t mushy but…” while the other opened with “This is probably corny but…” Why couldn’t they say “thank you?”
Has the business world become so suspect to the “sales pitch” that we have become frightened to tell people what we sincerely feel and think for fear of being misinterpreted.
If it has, this is a sad commentary. Although at times this may be a tough statement to defend, most people are not buffoons. Most people can tell the difference between a “come-on” and a sincere compliment.
In fact, women are better at this than men. Women have the luxury of being equipped with a built-in “creep-o-meter;” whereas men have trouble sorting through the slugs from the good-guys. Sorry boys. You know I’m right.
What could be easier than to say “thank-you” to somebody who has helped you, guided you, supported you and provided you with a few dollars now and then to insure some degree of eating regularity? This should come naturally … but it doesn’t.
It is easy. It has always been easy. It will continue to be easy. And it will become the most worthwhile marketing strategy (or courtesy) of your entire business campaign.
In a similar vein, why don’t more men open car doors for women? Why don’t more people stand up and approach visitors as they enter their place of business? Why don’t more people listen to what others are saying? Why do both men and women insist on playing the game “I can do better than that” when communicating in small groups?
But I digress. Thank more people beginning today and you can thank me later.
Mike Marchev is a non-linear thinker who makes his living shooting from the hip. Check out his new sales and marketing club … The Inner Circle.
mike@mikemarchev.com