THE NIERENBERG GROUP
Tip of the Month

January 2010

  Welcome back from your holiday break when you recharged, relaxed and rewrote your resolutions and goals for the New Year.  Now, put everything into action.  This quote says it all:

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. “  - Edith Lovejoy Pierce

The Power is in the Thank You

 Saying ‘thank you’ to your clients, advocates, friends, family—in essence- your entire network is always in style.

  One of our New Year’s resolutions needs to be—‘am I staying on people’s radar screen enough—with a simple thank you, showing appreciation or ‘staying in touch.

  It is human nature that when we reach out to someone in a sincere and appreciative way—it fosters stronger and better relationships. In business that can possibly lead to more referrals and opportunities.

  I have always been a huge advocate of sending personalized, heartfelt notes and keeping up the ‘high touch’ in a high tech world. Always having special interest types of cards and notes is the added bonus in that your recipient knows you really took the time to think of them specifically.

  Competition is alive and well and whatever you do to sincerely stand out from everyone else can be helpful in earning or keeping the business or getting that opportunity you want.

Here are some reminders:

• The Time is now - as part of your retention strategy, send a personal note with in 48 hours of receiving an order, assignment, or ‘next step.’

• Show your Personal brand - send a card either with your logo or better yet something that also represents your client’s brand.

• Put Thought into It - Write a short note expressing your thanks and be specific.

• -  An unexpected note that arrives in the mail always stands out..

• Relationship Marketing - Often it takes up to twelve ‘touches’ before you make the sale or get the opportunity. Stay top of mind with frequent and sincere communication that brings a smile to their face.

  Knowing how busy we all are today—make this easy by using the wonderful web based greeting card service right on your desktop-powered by SendOutCards.

www.appreciationpower.net and click my banner and send a card to anyone in your network as my gift to you. It is the way I now truly combine ‘high tech and high touch’

Remember it all lies in the POWER to connect and stay in touch:

P - Put it into practice now

O - Opportunity is everywhere

W - Write your notes whether you use your own pen or my system and still create the notes with your handwriting that go in the U.S. mail

E - Everyday send a card or note

R - Relationships and referral opportunities will grow over time

  The key to building any business relationship is knowing our clients. For example, taking a vegetarian to a steakhouse for a business meeting shows no advance planning.

In a recent article I also shared a few other lost opportunities:

 - An organization was pitching UPS for their business and "FedEx-ed" over the materials...

 - A group was trying to sell SONY and showed up for their meetings with Dell computers...

 - A team was sitting down to meet with people from Visa and when asked to open their wallets, everyone had credit cards from the competition...

  We can either make it or break it when we only pay attention to close detail.  Listen for the obvious and really get to know the customer or prospect.

  You can have the most amazing presentation, the most polished presenter and state of the arts material—yet if we forget who we are talking with, everything else is lost..

  To avoid making any embarrassing mistakes, get into the habit of forming a detailed personal profile for each person in your network. It will build over time as you learn more about them.

  Send me a quick email and I will personally send you my list of 33 topics to learn about people over time.  andrea@nierenberggroup.com

  The Holiday Season is behind us, it is always a great time to say, "Thank You" to those who help us throughout the year.  Make a point to continue the process -that is a great goal for 2010.

Wishing you continued success and all the best in making 2010 your best year ever!

"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better (person). " - Benjamin Franklin

 All the best,

P.S. Visit our new and improved website www.nierenberggroup.com  

and our blog TheNierenBlog.com

"Showing Appreciation to Your Clients and Connections is Always In Style"
Click here to learn more: AppreciationPower.net