Thank Your Way to Sales and Business Success
By Tom Boogher, CPSM, & Richard Cilley, CPSM
Successful business people don't let their clients, employees, and others guess their feelings. It is important to show appreciation and gratitude and show it often. Learn the art of saying "thank you." Thank your way to sales and business growth!

Regardless of whether you are a client, employee, family member, or friend, we all share one wish: the desire to be regarded. Gratitude and appreciation should be shown not just because it is nice or right, which it is, but because it is effective with people. A weakness of many people and most businesses is that they don't often show appreciation. And one of the basic human desires (remember, clients are people) is to be appreciated. It is not enough to be appreciative in your mind. You must say it, express it, and communicate it. Saying thanks in your mind and keeping thanks a secret are just not effective!

We are sure most of you, like us, value the respect and regard of others, yet in business, many times we (and the firms we work for) fail to extend it. When you win a job or project, your clients hire you over a competitor. And as you build relationships, many clients hopefully hire you on a routine and repetitive basis. Clients rely on you and your expertise to meet their needs, solve their problems, and deliver great quality service. Clients pay you for the services you provide, and some even help you get additional work and refer you to others. So ask yourself, "What do I, my team, or my company do in return to say thanks?" As simple as it may seem, what you should do is perfectly captured by that familiar phrase, "A simple thanks would be enough."

Be honest and ask yourself, "How many times have I forgotten to say thanks to my clients (and employees/co-workers)? When was the last time I called or visited my best clients and said, 'Mr. or Ms. Client, I just wanted to say thanks for your business and your trust and confidence in hiring our firm. I really appreciate your business!'" Are you really showing your clients that you care? If not, why not?

Our observation is that most people in business don't make or take the time to say thanks, instead moving on to the next fire, the next project, the next meeting, the next deadline—leaving the client behind. Put yourself in your client's shoes: When you are the client, do you ever feel thanked enough or really appreciated? Count the number of businesses that serve you each year. What thanks have they given you and what was the impact of that gesture (if there even was a gesture) on you? Can you remember the last time you were thanked as a client, and how did this make you feel?

Consider this: Is saying "thank you" and expressing appreciation or gratitude to your clients a way for you and your firm to differentiate yourselves from others? We believe it is! It is simple, easy to do, and it feels good. Try saying thanks more often, and you will feel better and your clients will too—and we bet you will see sales and business growth as a result.

There is quite an art to saying "thank you." All of us can easily say the words...but few really know how to express our appreciation with grace, finesse, and effectiveness. Here are eight simple rules for effectively saying "thank you":

1. When you say "thank you," mean it. Be sincere when you thank people. People know when you are genuinely sincere and they also know when you are not. Don't be phony and don't say it in passing—look at the person and say "thank you" with feeling and sincerity!

2. Say "thank you" clearly and distinctly. People can't read minds. Don't mumble, slur, whisper, or say "thank you" in passing. Do say "thank you" as if you are glad and your message is important. Smile at the person and deliver the "thank you" as good news.

3. Look at people when you thank them, and do it in person if you can. It means much more to thank people in person than via e-mail or a phone call. Sometimes a phone call, e-mail, or note may be your only option to say thanks. If so, go ahead and thank the person this way...but make sure to reinforce your appreciation and say thanks in person the next time you see the individual.

4. Thank people by name. Personalize all your thanks by name. After all, besides "thank you," the word people most love to hear is their own name!

5. Work at thanking people. Watch for chances to show appreciation and don't forget to thank the supporting cast. There may be many people within your client firm that impact you/your firm and your ability to do business. Don't forget to thank everyone...sometimes the "small people" are even more important to thank than the "big boss."

6. Don't forget the home folks. When the people in your firm help you capture a project, when they go out of their way to smooth your path with a client, when they contribute to YOUR collective success, say "thanks." There are few unassisted tackles in our industry. We all need to enlist the help of the people within our firms and saying "thank you" sincerely and often acknowledges their vital contribution to the firm's success. Remember, you couldn't do it without them.

7. Send two to three HANDWRITTEN thank-you notes a week. We know this contradicts Rule 3 above, but we are realists. Sending thank-you notes is a great way to get started showing your appreciation. How many thank-you notes did you send to your clients last year? For most of you the answer is "fewer than five" (probably zero)! Get some nice thank-you cards or company note cards and start hand writing and sending thanks to your clients. Challenge yourself and others in your firm to send two to three thank-you notes per week to a client or someone who is helping you build your business (3 per week is 150 per year...wow!). Or, go see one client per week and hand deliver some doughnuts or bagels with a big note that says, "Thank you! We appreciate your business."

8. Say "thank you" and then ask for another job or project. Sincerely expressing gratitude and appreciation to your client is a great foundation to ask for more work or the next job. Try saying this to your clients, "Mr. Client, thank you for the XYZ project, and thank you for your confidence in hiring and using our firm. I am glad to hear we performed successfully for you. How can we help you today? When is your next project that will require our services?" This is also a great time to ask for referrals, testimonials, or for the client to act as a reference. Try this, it really does work and will help you grow income and profit!

People crave and like receiving appreciation. To really flourish in business, you must express one thing above all: your thanks. In our opinion when it comes to saying thanks, there is no such thing as too often, too grateful, too warm, or too appreciative. In some situations where you may have not met the client's expectations or you may have disappointed the client, the "thank you" might be for giving your firm a chance to correct the problem and the opportunity to improve.

And trust us: Saying "thank you" can be a competitive advantage and differentiator. For many clients, nobody—you and your competitors included—is thanking them sincerely or consistently. What a great opportunity to stand out and be the firm and the person who truly says thanks and shows appreciation. Few things feel more gratifying than gratitude, and few professional service firms express their gratitude and appreciation as much as they should. So, ask yourself, "When am I going to give my first THANKS today? Who is the lucky client?" Go ahead, take a risk, make somebody's day...it's just two words: THANK YOU!

Your parents were right and so was your kindergarten teacher. Say "thank you," and say it often!

About the Authors
Richard Cilley, CPSM, is CEO of Transcendent Consultants (www.transcendentconsultants.com), and Tom Boogher, CPSM, is Executive Vice President of Professional Service Industries, Inc. (www.psiusa.com). Richard and Tom have a combined 50-plus years of experience in marketing and sales within the A/E/C industry.

Hosted by SMPS' Business Development Institute, this column provides tips, best practices, and suggestions on how to excel at sales and client development. Remember that nothing happens in business until you make a sale! The Business Development Institute is a Specific Interest Group of SMPS with the goal to promote, inform, and educate the A/E/C industry on the importance of sales and the necessity for business development best practices.
 
Your comments, feedback, suggestions and questions are encouraged. Please drop either editor an e-mail with any input. You can reach Tom Boogher at tom.boogher@psiusa.com or Richard Cilley at rcc@transcendentconsultants.com. [ return to top ]