THE UNEXPECTED "THANK YOU"
Copyright 1999 By Bob Leduc

I bought my first new car when I was 21 years old. It was a 
bright red convertible. Along with the joy of owning my 
dream car came the responsibility of paying for it. I 
remember how the feeling of "buyer's remorse" plagued me for 
days after I drove the car off the dealer's lot. ("Buyer's 
remorse" is what we feel after making an impulsive decision 
-- until we can justify our decision with logical reasons.)

About a week later I got a personal letter from Ray, the 
salesman who sold the car to me. He thanked me for the 
business and congratulated me for making such a wise 
decision. He then went on to list all the benefits I'd enjoy 
as a result of my wise decision. Ray's letter didn't change 
the car payments I faced for the next 3 years. However, it 
did change the way I felt about them. I lost my buyer's 
remorse almost immediately. Ray's letter also changed the 
way I felt about him. I bought 3 more cars from Ray during 
the next 10 years.

I used versions of Ray's "thank you" letter throughout my 
business career. They helped preserve a considerable amount 
of business. They also helped solidify many valuable 
business relationships.

BENEFITS OF THE UNEXPECTED "THANK YOU"

How would you react if you received a personal "thank you" 
from a company or person a few days after you spent money 
with them? You'd feel good and probably want to do more 
business with them sooner rather than later. Why not give 
that same feeling to the most important people you know -- 
your customers.

Here are some benefits you gain when you send a personal 
"thank you" to a customer or client who just gave you 
business...

** You reduce or lower any buyer's remorse your customer or 
client feels after their purchase.
** You develop a closer relationship with your customer.
** You gain free word-of-mouth advertising when your 
customers tell everybody about your unexpected "thank 
you" letter and how good they feel about doing business 
with you.
** You have an opportunity to resell more (or other) 
products or services. You can even promote this by 
including a special price or discount offer in your 
"thank you" letter.
** You enhance your image as a consumer-oriented business.

Your unexpected "thank you" doesn't have to be lengthy. You 
don't have to write it individually for each customer or 
client. You can use the same text for everybody with just a 
few minor changes -- like inserting the customer's name. You 
don't even have to take the time to type envelopes and mail 
letters. You can send your "thank you" by fax or email. Just 
be sure to personalize it as much as possible.

EXAMPLES

If you've ordered books on the internet from Amazon.com, you 
received a good example of an unexpected "thank you" letter 
by email. Their "thank you" email message even includes the 
titles of other books you can order on the same subject.

I spoke with an MLM distributor several weeks ago who sends 
what she called a "congratulatory letter" to all her new 
distributors 2 days after they sign up. In it she repeats 
the specific goals stated by the new distributor before 
signing up and includes a brief description of how he or she 
will now be able to achieve them. 

Most buying decisions are made on impulse. Only after buying 
do we look for logical reasons to justify our decision. You 
can help your customers with this by including all the 
benefits they'll gain from your product or service in an 
unexpected "thank you" message. These benefits are what 
initially compelled them to buy. Repeating these benefits 
reassures them of the wisdom of their decision. It can even 
reduce or eliminate cancellations or refunds.

Bob Leduc retired from a 30 year career of recruiting sales
personnel and developing sales leads. He is now a Sales
Consultant. Bob recently wrote a manual for small business
owners titled "How to Build Your Small Business Fast With
Simple Postcards" and several other publications to help
small businesses grow and prosper. For more information...
Email: BobLeduc@aol.com Subject: "Postcards".
Phone: (702) 658-1707 (After 10 AM Pacific time)
Or write: Bob Leduc, PO Box 33628, Las Vegas, NV 89133