Is it a Keeper?
Can you think back to a time when you received an unexpected and thoughtful handwritten note and how it made you feel?
I have a stack of letters and cards I’ve saved through the years that I call “Keepers”. You know, they are letters and notes that are particularly meaningful that we know we will want to revisit one day.
During one of the sessions, at the very well put together and informative 2020 ICFA conference in San Diego, there was a panel of three top merchants. Only one out of the three panelists stated she consistently sends handwritten thank you notes to customers and associates. This conversation made me remember a statement made to me years ago by someone I considered a mentor, “there’s nothing emptier than an empty mailbox”. Would you agree there is something very special and personal about a handwritten envelope with a stamp on it landing in your empty mailbox?
These days we’re bombarded with constant texting and emailing. Perhaps these modes of communication allow us to write so swiftly that the tone or full intent of the message is lost. A funny example of this was on a sunny day a few months ago.
My husband, Tim, and I were traveling around our territory when he shared with me an interesting text he had just received. At first glance, it appeared to be a love letter of sorts. It read, “Thank you so much for making a woman happy! I’m very excited”. I bet you can imagine the raised eyebrows on my face and the curiosity that arose in my mind as to what precipitated such a text?
I bet you can imagine the raised eyebrows on my face and the curiosity that arose in my mind as to what precipitated such a text?
Innocently, this nice lady was thanking Tim for helping her with her recent purchase of outdoor furniture. Outdoor furniture does truly make folks happy! We had a good laugh over it as we continued our journey that day.
I suspect, if you’re like me, you’ve composed letters in your head from time to time that never made it to paper. Perhaps it was the angry letter that probably should’ve never been put onto paper, and if it was, certainly not stamped and mailed. Maybe, it was a thoughtful and heartfelt letter that you still wish you had taken the time to write and mail but now it’s too late.
As reps, retailers and manufacturers, maybe it’s time to consider setting our computers, tablets, and phones aside every now and then and simply handwriting a good old-fashioned note or letter to our business associates. I have to believe a strengthening and deepening of our relationships within the industry will occur.
Handwritten letters were once written out of necessity and for hundreds of years they have been used as a way of recording history. A handwritten letter can be a picture into the past that can evoke emotion and beautiful memories.
My lifelong friend, Dee Anne, has letters her now deceased mother wrote to her through the years that when needed emerge. Beautiful letters on all subjects of life that she knew her daughter would need as she grew older.
Recently, Tim dropped a note into the mail to his friend, Rodney. It was written with the intention of letting Rodney know what his friendship had meant to Tim through the years. Within a few days of receiving the note, Rodney gave Tim a concerned call. Rodney was sure, upon receiving such a note out of the blue, that Tim was certainly in his last days and had been diagnosed with a terminal illness!
The unexpected note had taken him by complete surprise and made him suspicious of Tim’s genuine motive for writing it. They were able to find humor in it and I’m sure Rodney now has this letter in his stack of “Keepers”.
Until next time take care, and if you’ve never been on the receiving end of a “Keeper”, I challenge you to write a few that are worthy of pen, paper and a stamp to your friends, loved ones and business associates.
Just maybe, in return, you will find that your empty mailbox becomes the landing spot of a few “Keepers” for you to revisit in the future.