The simplest act can have the most profound impact on your sale. A genuine expression of gratitude can take many forms. “Thank you for your business,” or “I’m so grateful for your help,” or even a handwritten letter expressing your sincere appreciation for sharing time and insights can be powerful messages when delivered the right way.
People buy from people they like. It’s no cliche, it’s a fact. Simple statements of gratitude can make all the difference between growing your relationships with your clients or never breaking through.
There’s a surprisingly uncomplicated, yet highly effective practice when executed with consistency and sincerity that could be the nudge your sale needs to set it on course for closure. It could vault you forward to land a critical meeting or expand your network of contacts to find the real change agents at your client facilities.
Closing a complex sale requires you to plot a course to traverse through the organization and discover the key people who will determine the fate of your sale. These directors, vice presidents and so forth often have entire departments or divisions reporting to them.
The Path to a Decision-Maker Starts with a Single Relationship
The parade of salespeople trying to break through to the same important people in an organization must look like the endless horizon of the Republic Army from Star Wars: a sea of white armor-clad soldiers, helmeted — all anonymous — marching through every possible communication channel, intent on planting their flags on their target executive’s calendar.
Innovative products, especially in the tech sector, are born each day, hatching with them a new battalion of salespeople deployed to spread the word and grow their company. The competition for the attention of these executives is fierce. Their calendars are already double-booked with internal meetings well before the swarms of salespeople fight to squeeze onto any open space.
Meet the Executive Assistant
Navigating to that important executive meeting will take you down many paths, from referrals to convincing a contact at the client to invite that essential person to join a meeting, to scheduling the meeting yourself. Regardless of your tactics, you will find yourself face to face with the executive’s assistant, a person who’s often tasked with strengthening the virtual barrier between you and that crucial meeting.
The executive’s assistant is on the front line, defending against the endless march of soldiers seeking to force open a spot on the executive’s schedule. This isn’t a battle for blood, but it is a battle that can determine your prosperity and longevity with your employer. The level of gratitude extended to all players in the sale, including the assistant, admin, secretary, or other title given to this position, can be paramount to your future.
Fakes Are Easy to Spot
Most people’s fraud detectors are pretty well-honed. If your expression of appreciation is routine, rushed, or cavalier in any way, expect your business card, email, or vmail to find its way to the trash instead of onto the executive’s desk.
Slowing down to listen and learn from people will provide the clue how you can connect in a personal way. It’s tempting (and too easy) to jump in with our own stories, but that’s not really compassionate listening.
Most people really want to be heard and understood. For people who know you’re selling something, it’s the only way they know that you’re different, that you’re listening, and that this relationship is important to you. ‘Stop Talking, Start Listening’ should really be the subtitle of this blog.
I can’t stress enough how important those front-line warriors are to you and their employer.
Some of the most rewarding relationships I’ve had in my sales career have been with executive assistants. Learning about their families, spouses, or outside activities can open them up to a more meaningful discussion. I’ve been pleasantly surprised how often their lives parallel my own family life. It’s a good sign there’s a genuine interest in you too when they start asking the same kind of questions.
Gifts of Gratitude
You can’t buy someone’s trust, but you can take another step to thank people who make your sales possible with simple gifts of gratitude. Over the past 20 years, my bag has always included three or four $25 Starbucks gift cards. I use those moments before or after an important meeting to visit with the assistant, thanking them for their effort and patience with getting the meeting scheduled, then often leave them with one of the gift cards.
Recently, after six months of phone calls, emails, and waiting on conference calls where the person never arrived, the call finally took place. It wasn’t just any call. It was a call with a C-level executive of a Fortune 50 company. Although I was ready to stop trying after the four canceled or unattended calls, I kept rescheduling.
It was the pure grace of this executive’s assistant that made it possible. I’m one of the dozens of salespeople requests she’s managing on a daily basis. A few executives over the years have even commented that their assistant seems to do more for me than for them.
We all have to be productive and meet our objectives to retain our jobs and fulfill our obligations at home. Being a genuinely good person, both friendly and empathetic, is not just a satisfying way to live each day; these important qualities are also easy to spot and are appreciated by your sales contacts.
When your mission is to help and do the right thing for your client, your client will often reciprocate and help you too. On the other hand, if you act self-important or arrogant, or otherwise are a jerk to an assistant, it will ensure you’ll fight an even tougher battle to earn a sale.
The Handwritten Thank-You Letter
I’ve found the number one tool to express gratitude is a handwritten thank-you letter or card. Before email, it wasn’t uncommon for executives to receive significant volumes of mail. Even in those days, the handwritten letter stood out from the rest. It shows the recipient that you took the time to do something unique, something to separate you from the sea of other salespeople. Imagine how much a handwritten letter stands out today, where the volume of physical mail has collapsed but every electronic channel is choked with messages. Connecting on LinkedIn is interesting, but real bonds are forged in person. Your simple expressions of gratitude will strengthen that bond and might be the difference in earning the trust of your client.
