Three Ways You Can Craft Better “Thank You” Letters

“Thank you” to Kent Hammer http://www.hammerconsulting.net for requesting this post for his most recent “Hammer Letter,” short posts showcasing positive ideas.

Many of the “Thank You” letters I get are a waste of time, occasionally an embarrassment. That’s sad, because executed correctly, a “Thank You” letter can have relationship-changing impact.

Three ways to increase the value to the recipient:

Best is if you can send something that was requested in the meeting.

Next best is to confirm something requested that you will be providing, including when you expect to ship.

Third is to forward some information from a third party that will interest the receiver.

As an example, I was in a meeting yesterday when my client said their biggest need was teaching the troops to sell up in their own organization. Today, I saw a wonderful post from Seth Godin on
“Best new way to make an internal sale” – http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/07/best-new-way-to-make-an-internal-sale.html

I forwarded it, mentioning their interest, and established I was both a maven and listening to the them.

Comments?