Mastering the World of Selling: The Ultimate Training Resource from the Biggest Names in Sales

Chapter 34. Developing the Thank-You Note Habit

Tom Hopkins

Tom Hopkins International

I learned the value and power of thank-you notes early in life. When I was a young child, my parents occasionally went out with friends for dinner. Invariably, when my parents returned from an evening out, I saw my mother sit down at her little desk in the hallway as soon as she got home and begin to write. One night I asked her what she was doing. Her answer came straight out of Emily Post: "We had such a wonderful time with our dear friends this evening that I want to jot them a note to thank them for their friendship and the wonderful dinner." My mother's simple act of gratitude, expressed to people who already knew that she and my father appreciated and enjoyed their friendship, helped to keep my parents' friendships strong for their entire lifetimes.

Because I understood that building relationships is what selling is all about, I began early in my career to send thank-you notes to people. I set a goal to send 10 thank-you notes every day. That goal meant that I had to meet and get the names of at least 10 people every day. I sent thank-you notes to people I met briefly, people I showed properties to, people I talked with on the telephone, and people I actually helped to own new homes. I became a thank-you note fool. And guess what happened? By the end of my third year in sales, my business was 99 percent referrals! The people I had expressed gratitude to were happy to send me new clients as a ...