Guest Post: Why Handwritten Notes Work

After visiting an interesting post on how people start their work days, I blogged about it here and an even more interesting thing happened (because that's how the interwebs work!). A commenter followed up on my surprise over the effectiveness of handwritten notes with some pretty astonishing claims. So I followed up with him, and Mike Kaselnak of HOARD Clients System, Inc., sent back a detailed account of his experiences with handwritten communication, along with good support and rationale...

I am a commodity. Financial advisors are a commodity. We like to think that we aren’t, but we are. We all look the same to the public. We all sell the same things. Our products all cost the same (we can’t put things on sale like retailers to pump up our business). 

We are all basically proficient at being financial advisors much the same as dentists are all proficient at dentistry. We don’t all flock to a dentist because he is the “best.” We go to a dentist simply because we needed one. He or she had an office close to our home and they were as good, in our eyes, as any other dentist. Sorry, but for most people, that is about the same amount of time and effort they put into choosing a financial advisor.

No wonder I had never made more than $50,000 a year in my 12 years as a financial planner. I tried everything and it all kind of worked…just not enough for me to make more than $50,000 a year.

I tried:

• Seminars – Expensive and risky.  One failed workshop and I was $5,000 in the hole.  Three failed workshops and I could be out of business.
• Newsletters – Sent out thousands and they always seem to generate enough business to pay for themselves…just.
• Newspaper Ads – Got a lot of people wanting free information…just not a lot of people buying products
• Referrals – I asked for them a lot at the beginning but after making clients feel on the spot and still not getting many good referrals I quit asking.  I figured why make client feel uncomfortable when the likelihood of a good referral was slim to none anyways.
• Systems and kits – Tried kit after kit and system after system.  Some worked.  Some didn’t.  All were expensive.  Many just required to much time and effort to even get started with them.
• Etc., etc.

So finally, through desperation, I sat down and tried to figure out an inexpensive way (I couldn’t afford anything but cheap) for me to look different than all my competition.  And I had a lot of competition.  I live in Rochester, MN, the home of the world famous Mayo Clinic. Since 7% of the entire population are doctors, every broker and their brother has set up shop in our city.

Here’s what I stumbled on:

1. Trying to look smart doesn’t work.  They either take your information back to their current broker and he made the commission on it or they just took the information home to “think about.”
2. You can’t give better customer service.  Your competitors answer their phones courteously.  They promptly return phone calls.  They fulfilled their client’s requests quickly and with a smile on their face.  Your competitors all have good customer service
3. You can’t promise them higher returns than my competitors for two reasons.  It’s illegal and it’s a lie.  Heck, if I could actually get them the highest returns I’d be living large on a Caribbean Island right now!
4. I had been ignoring the Golden Rule of sales for 12 years:

The prospect doesn’t care how much you know
Until they know how much you care

I had been spending the vast majority of my time trying to demonstrate how much I know to prospects and just expected them to know that I care.

THAT IS BACKWARDS!

They already know that you’re competent, they think all financial advisors are competent just as they do with dentists.  What they don’t know was that you care.

How can you show them that you care more than other financial advisors?

I sat down and tried to think how I could show them that I cared more about them than my competition.  I couldn’t tell them because prospects by nature are very skeptical. Their attitude is:

Words are cheap
Just SHOW me

So how can you show them that you care about them.  If you just keep coming up with financial ideas to share with them, it’s just making them think that the only thing you care about is getting at their money.

You need to show them that you care about them as people as you would a friend or family member.

People do business with friends.

What do friends do?

• They share stories about what is happened to them or their families
• They help each other out
• They keep in contact
• They time for each other

The only way you can do these things is by phone or by mail. 

Phoning is labor intensive and you run into the do not call list and making intrusive calls that cause people to dislike you.

Mail. Not intrusive and can be done very time efficiently. Unfortunately, the time efficient way of mail merging form letters is a waste of money.  99% are going to get thrown away.

The one piece of mail no one throws away without reading it is the handwritten note.

So I began to write handwritten notes.  A few at first and then dozens and then as my business began to explode instead of stopping…I wrote hundreds of handwritten notes and within two years, without changing anything else I was doing, I went from making $50,000 a year to over $1 million a year.

The Power of the Handwritten note

It is...cheap!

• Pen or pencil --  free (Your local service station will give you one for free.)
• Paper --  one penny
• Envelope – one nickel
• Stamp – 39 cents (ed. note: going up soon! write some notes today!)
• Total cost – 45 cents

It is...effective!

• The one piece of mail that is guaranteed to read 100% of the time
• If done right -- your message will be kept for at least a week
• Your message will be shared with other people you normally couldn’t reach

Your message will create referrals…UNASKED FOR REFERRALS.  The most effective of referrals.

It...sets you apart from your competition!

You will be demonstrating the Golden Rule of selling:

They don’t care how much you know
Until they know how much you care

All your competition are playing game that can’t be won, trying to prove they are smarter than each other or that they have better customer service. You will be alone in demonstrating that you care!

Comments

[Nicole Mills]

Great post! I couldn't agree more. I've been pounding my head against a "wall" trying to figure out how to do just what you've explained above! I'm in the process of starting my own company, and this will be a great way to inform all my former and future prospective clients...thanks for the reminder that sometimes technology doesn't always win out over a simple stamp.

[Howard Levy]

Great advice. I have written my share of handwritten notes in the past, and I concur. Not many people do it and so it stands out. The notes don't have to be elaborate - just a simple thank you for a meeting, for example. Almost no one does that and it separates yopu from the competition. When I have been called back for a second meeting, I often see my handwritten note (with business card) on their desk. Such a simple technique to clinch a deal.

[Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA]

In my line of work (www.JasonWomack.com) I get a LOT of business cards.

The deal I made (with myself) is that every person who takes the time and makes the effort to give me a card gets a handwritten note.

Yes, some weeks it's tough to get them all done, but boy is it worth it!

Give it a try, for the next 5 days, just write one a day and see what happens!

[Nadene Vigoda]

You hit the nail on the head!
Just three months ago -- after using every small business marketing technique I could come up with on my very limited budget -- I embarked on a marketing campaign. I mail (yes - snail mail!) an oversized postcard to current & prospective clients / agencies. The postcard has some sort of financial tip on it -- which translated means -- "This may help you. I CARE!"

Thanks for your insightful information. If I ever make $1 million I'll be in touch!

Nadene Vigoda
DOLLARS & SEN$E
... helping people manage their day-to-day finances ...

[Nicole Bandes]

It is so unfortunate that we have forgotten this most valued business tool. The handwritten note has been used to promote business since merchants could write. At some point, advertising replaced personal notes as a means to get to more people faster. Now, of course, advertising is generally ignored.

When was the last time you actually did business with someone that advertised? It doesn't happen often. That means we have to get back to what worked, building relationships and showing the prospect we care. Before long, this won't be the exception, but the rule. Don't you want to be in on it before your competition finds out?

Nicole Bandes,
Relationship Marketing Lens

[Heddy Keith]

I never used personal notes, but I have received them. It made me feel special. I felt that the person truly cared about me.

[dental implants]

I too have written notes in the past surprisingly only a few does it.