Tip #3 - Setting Birthday Card & Call Reminders


Having heard both sides of the debate on sending birthday cards and whether they are an effective way of maintaining client relationships or a cheesy, "old-school" approach to relationship marketing, I choose to send cards, handwritten if possible and outsourced to a service like Send Out Cards when time won't allow it. This is a simple 2-3 part task or workflow using your CRM:

1.Task: Send Birthday Card
a. Programmed to appear on team member's task list at least 7 days prior to the client's birth date recorded in your CRM

2.(Optional) Automated birthday email sent on the morning of clients birthday

3.Task: Birthday Phone Call
a.Do this at the beginning of your day if possible as it will have a profound impact on the energy and goodwill the activity creates

4.(Optional) For partners and clients who are active Facebook users, post a Happy Birthday Message on their FB wall. It's not about duplication. It's about the number of FB friends that fill up their wall that day. You can even send a FB gift!



Read Tip #1: "Automating your Follow-up Tasks".
Read Tip #2: "Create a Value-added Keep-in-Touch Plan".
Stay Tuned for Tip #4!

Tip #2 - Create a Value-added Keep-in-Touch Plan

In the previous chapter, you read about automating your follow-up. Since only a small percentage of your colleagues are leveraging an effective, automated follow-up strategy, you now have a way to outpace them in an extremely competitive market.

Now let us layout a strategy to outperform your competition that "do" have a follow-up program. When it comes to marketing materials, some would argue that sending out something is better than sending nothing at all. It should be argued that the more the valuable the information provided is to the contact, the better the marketing piece is and the better the follow-up is.



Here's an example of value added follow-up in the form of a voice mail:

Voicemail Scripts:

Follow-up Voicemail Script: "Hi Clay. This is Mike from Vortex Mortgage. I was just calling to check in and see how you are doing. Give me a call when you have a minute. My number is 888-771-7672. Have a good day!"

Value added version: "Hi Clay. This is Mike, your Certified Mortgage Planner. This is a courtesy call that we provide you as a client. I want to verify that you have been receiving your newsletter and rate watch reports, so you can track how the interest rate on your home mortgage compares to some of the rates you may have heard about in the news. I also made a note that this month is your wife's birthday, so you can expect a box of brownies and a card. Take care and ring me back if you have any questions. My Number is 888-771-7672. Have a great day!"


Both voicemails take less than a minute to deliver, but which one is actually providing your client value? Following a KIT (Keep-in-Touch) program that includes 500 past clients on a phone call/ quarter schedule, will require that you leave 8-10 voice mail message opportunities each business day. Keep it fresh, by altering your script with a fresh message at the beginning of each new quarter. For a more frequent contact schedule (every 30- 60 days), anticipate the need to leave 25-30 voice messages each business day.

That number will increase along with the growth of your database of past clients. With consistent effort during standard business hours, expect to reach about 1 client for every 12-15 call attempts. Plan on talking briefly to about 2-3 clients per day and leaving voicemails for the remainder of your list. This entire process will only take up about an hour of your time is executed properly, but the impact on your repeat and referral business can be dramatic.

Don't expect a lot of callbacks. That's not the main objective of the exercise. Remember, your clients are busy too. But by nurturing that "Top of Mind" seed, you position yourself as the sales professional that your client will remember to call or recommend first, when the timing and conditions are right.


Read Tip #1: "Automating your Follow-up Tasks".
Stay Tuned for Tip #3!

Your Grandmother did it and so did her mother before her. Jack Welch sent them to subordinates when they achieved major milestones. Tom Hopkins & Brian Buffini built multi-million dollar real estate businesses with them. Harvey MacKay celebrated author of "Swim with the Sharks without Being Eaten Alive" writes:

"Short handwritten notes yield long results. In sales, never underestimate the personal gesture, and right at the top of the list of effective personal gestures sits handwritten notes. Always send memorable cards and personal notes when you are reminded of a person."

You may be thinking to yourself, "That sounds nice, but I'm busy. I send and receive 100s of emails each day. This is the information age!!! I use text messaging. I'm using new products built on 3G & CLOUD computing infrastructure managing my enterprise across a virtual & mobile workforce. I'm expanding my web exposure using search engine optimization and just recently setup multiple accounts to leverage the latest innovative social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. And you want me think about handwritten notes???"

ABSOLUTELY.

I'm an evangelist for new technology especially when it saves time and makes me money. But there are things that technology cannot replace such as personal gestures backed by professionalism and courtesy. Most businesses begin based on a great idea. Businesses that thrive are usually based on great relationships.



So what's so special about a card written in someone's own handwriting? First, a person's handwriting is almost as unique as his DNA. Second, it takes more effort to write a note than send an email or leave a vmail. Third, your clients receive 100s of emails everyday. Only about 3% of the postal mail is personal. If you doubt that, ask yourself how close to a trash can you stand when you open your correspondence??? Fourth, cards & stamps cost money. That, with your time and thoughtful message, carry an innate VALUE that is lost with instant technology. Fifth, never underestimate the power of an oldie-but-goodie. They say the classics never go out of style. The handwritten note/card is a classic that has been around for thousands of years. How many businesses can say that?

1. Send at least one "Unexpected Card" to a friend, client or partner every day.
2. Collect 10 new business cards or contact information from new prospects each day.
3. On the same day, send a follow up (Nice to Meet You) card to your every new prospect.
4. Send Birthday Cards to everyone you know. Call them on their birthday & do not mention business.
5. Enter & Synchronize all new contact information for your prospects into each of your customer relationship management CRM systems (MS Outlook, ACT, Salesforce, Franklin Flanner, Day Runner, IPhone, Blackberry, Palm Pilot, etc.)
6. Make a follow up call to every person to whom you send a card 4-5 days after you send it - set this as a reminder in your planner or CRM.
7. At each meeting, spend the first 10 minutes talking about them - it's their favorite subject. Family, Occupation, Recreation & then your Message F.O.R.M.
8. When meeting with clients and partners, ask for referrals. Describe the type of referral that you are seeking today, focusing on the benefit or value that you can offer the referee. Ask them if they have anyone in mind that you may be able to help.
9. With sphere of influence partners, adopt Dr. Ivan Misner's "Givers Gain" approach by consistently working to provide them high-quality referrals.
10. Never give up on calling the prospect until you reach them or until they ask you to stop calling. Only leave one voicemail per week, no matter how many calls you make. The average consumer does not respond until after the 6th phone call. The average salesperson gives up after 3 calls.

I recently spoke to a fellow Chamber of Commerce partner at an event at the new Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego. My colleague (let's call him "Larry") and I were discussing his latest promotion and how his advertising business had literally been exploding over the past 2 years. I like to "peel back the onion" a bit, so I continued my F.O.R.M.ing interview until I have identified an area of need. I generally identify an area of need when my client begins complaining or starts a new sentence with - "I wish, I want, If only, You know what upsets me?, I can't understand, etc."

On this night, Larry expressed confusion and irritation about a large client that had not invited him to their annual event/party. He was worried about whether it was an simply an oversight or an intentional slight due to something he had done. I reassured Larry that it was probably an oversight, but their was always the possibility of the latter. I further asked my colleague how often he spoke to this client, sent them a thank you card or invited them to coffee.

Larry looked at me with a stunned look on his face as if I had read his mind or bugged his office. He told me that he had been discussing his company's lack of a definitive, follow-up strategy earlier that day with his business partner. What I soon found out, was that like a lot of business people, Larry was great at getting new business, but had nothing in place to insure client retention and generate referrals after the transaction. We spent the next 1/2 hour discussing how appreciation wins over promotion every time, especially with client retention and referral marketing.

Abraham Lincoln once wrote, "Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new at all."

Here's your tip of the day, on the anniversary of the business relationship or transaction, send your client a good book with a thank you note. I like to send books about personal finance or improvement, like:

The Richest Man in Babylon
by George S. Clason

A wonderful insight into the world of finances, this book is a great gift for someone just beginning to explore the money world and just as useful for the long-time investor who add its powerful teachings to his arsenal of money-making tools. This book, written in the 1920s, still has a way of bringing out the millionaire-to-be in all of us.







How to Win Friends and Influence People
by Dale Carnegie

Celebrating 70 years in print, this is a book that truly has endured. How to Win Friend and Influence People includes the six ways to make people like you, the twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking, and the nine ways to change people without arousing resentment. For anyone wishing to improve how they work with others, this book is a must-read.