Get In The Habit

Back on January 17th I told you about three extremely successful people (Joe Girard, Tom Hopkins and George Herbert Walker Bush) who attribute a big part of their good fortune to their habit of sending personal note cards.

DeMarr Zimmerman sent me an email in which he told me that Harvey Mackay, the author of Swim With The Sharks, is quoted as saying "" Send memorable cards, personal notes when you are reminded of a person, relevant newspaper clippings, birthday cards and thank-you notes. Remember the 80/20 rule applies. I actively keep in touch with at least 20% of the 6,500 names on my personal Rolodex, because that 20% provides 80% of the value of my network."

DeMarr also told me that (the first) President Bush was named the "Rolodex Kid" by Time Magazine because he was a fanatic about maintaining an extensive Rolodex containing everyone he met, and that this was his contact management system for sending personal note cards.

Every one of these successful people would tell you that they had to work at developing their habit of sending cards and commit to it everyday in order for it to work.

Since joining SendOutCards I have sent over 700 note cards and postcards.

I use them at every opportunity: after a phone call; after meeting someone new; after receiving exceptional service; you name it.

I am getting in the habit and I am seeing the results already. People love receiving my cards and I love sending them.

I have also found that sending cards is the perfect way to demonstrate the power of the SendOutCards system.

Get in the habit. Send campaigns of cards on a regular basis and single unexpected cards everyday.

It's fast, inexpensive, easy to do and fun. What's not to like?

After all, if you're not using the system, how can you expect others to?

My Favorites

Happy Groundhog Day!

Today I want to share a quick thought about the "My Favorites" section of the card catalog.

With thousands of cards to choose from, you may feel a little overwhelmed.

My suggestion is to spend some time becoming familiar with the names of the catalog sections and subsections and then begin poking around in areas of particular interest to you.

As you find individual cards you like, add them to your unique My Favorites section by simply clicking on the link that says "Add to My Favorites" next to each card. Little by little you will build up your own library of cards that match your applications and personality.

In particular, everyone's My Favorites section should have at least one Thank You card, Nice To Meet You card, holiday cards, birthday cards, etc. so you can quickly fire off a personalized card to a prospect, customer, vendor, employee or family member whom you want to share a thought or feeling with.

With your My Favorites section in place, you'll be much more likely to use SendOutCards every day.

Sending Gift Cards

Today I want to remind you that you can enclose a gift card in any greeting card you send.

These are the same gift cards you see at check-out counters of major retailers.

Through SendOutCards you can buy them in denominations ranging from one cent to $50, giving your recipient a quick shopping spree at:

Bed Bath & Beyond
Borders
Circuit City
Eddie Bauer
5 Restaurants in 1 Card
-->Chilis
-->Romanos Macaroni Grill
-->On The Border
-->Maggianos Little Italy
-->Corner Bakery
Sears
Starbucks

I wouldn't use these as bribes ahead of time, intended to drive a particular behavior, but rather as a reward and show of appreciation after someone had done something nice for you.

My suggestion is to send a thank you note with a Starbucks card inside with $10 on it and invite your recipient to "enjoy a Starbucks beverage with a friend on me." That way you haven't put a crassly specific dollar value on the gift but instead have generously given them an experience to enjoy.

If they've done something really great (or made a really big purchase!) you can give them $50 on a 5 Restaurants In 1 Card and let them paint the town at the eatery of their choice.

Send yourself a gift card to see how easy it is!