The Powerful Business Development Implement on Your Desk

Do you remember the last email you got? Probably not.  We all get dozens or hundreds of emails per day. Each one blurs into the next.

But I'll bet you remember the last personal handwritten note you got.  It came in a hand-addressed envelope and had a personal message inside.  You were touched and may have even kept it for a day or two.  It got to you and you remembered it.

A handwritten note is a powerful business development implement.  You should have a box of them sitting on the corner of your desk, in a spot where nothing will get piled on top of it.

Go out and buy your "signature" set of thank-you cards -- ones that people will identify with you.  I use cards from Palm Press that display a pile of one million dollars on the outside.  Inside it says "Thanks a Million."  It reminds recipients that I helped a Chicago law firm generate $1,000,000 in nine months.

Use these cards whenever you get a referral, when you get new business from a client and after a meeting with a target client. It is absolutely necessary that you handwrite the address on the outer envelope, and handwrite the message inside.  Use these notes whenever you want to make a positive and lasting impression.

Why do they work so well?  In a world jammed with podcasts, email, direct mail, telemarketing, TV commercials, advertisements on every possible surface -- the personal touch stands out.