Thoughts on how to make communications with prospects very personal.
Imagine it is year 2050. An archaeologist and his team are excavating an old high school. With his rugged hands he pulls some ancient relics from a pile of rubble. The team gathers around to view old notebooks that, until now, the team had only heard about online. The wise archaeologist gathers the dusty notebooks from the year 1990 and transports them to the local museum for preservation.
Does this seem farfetched? You may think I am making the case that technology is moving too fast, and yes you would be correct. If you dig a little more (no pun intended) you will see that the notebooks (written by hand) are my focus for this article.
What’s More Reasonable?
What would you say is more personal, writing a hand written note or sending an email? If I asked my residents at Winnwood Retirement, I imagine 99% would say a hand written note is better, and far classier! It says something far more telling about a person when they actually take the time to pull out a pen and paper and compose a personal thought.
I think emails may be fast and efficient in today’s world, but are tech-stagnant! There is nothing personal to me about an email. It is common practice in most schools and universities these days that notes are all typed on a computer and then homework is submitted to the teacher by email, minutes before the midnight deadline. (I would so be in trouble if I was in school now). Students can get a college degree on a computer, in their PJs, and never leave their house.
A Diluting of Our Educational System
For the most part pens, paper and notebooks don’t have much use in the modern classroom. I believe too many electronic gadgets are diluting our educational system and changing the ideas of what the written word is. Imagine what our country would be like if the Founding Fathers just sent out the Declaration of Independence as an attachment on an email??
Would an emailed version hanging on the wall of the Rotunda in Washington, DC, have the same profound effect on us as the hand-written version? I am not a Luddite (against technology) but I do believe we have certain cultural and educational obligations to pass on to generations to come. Whether you agree with me or not it is still thought provoking! Write someone a heartfelt note today and see how good it makes your recipient and you both feel. You might just accidentally move a prospect in Have a great week! John
If you like this article (or even if you don’t) it would be a great honor to have you subscribe to our mailing list HERE
As someone a couple of decades older than the author of this post ….. unfortunately I’m finding that writing in long hand is becoming more difficult on my hand, and it shows in my handwriting. The pain is such that anything lengthy would be out of the question. I think we have to say that just as the quill and scroll became obsolete, so will long epistles. Electronic communication is the new normal. The price is right as USPS keeps rates going up. An automatic copy put in the “Sent” folder provides a nice reminder/record. It would be inconvenient to make a paper photocopy of outgoing correspondence. So I’m willing to give up the ghost and stick with the keyboards.
The point about a handwritten note is that it is personal. It should be deliberately short and simple. The elder George Bush sent ten personal notes a day for many years and credits them for his election to the Presidency. No one cares about your penmanship if it is legible and they do not want to read a lengthy missive. But it has been proven many times that personal, handwritten notes bring in vastly better results in sales and in building relationships. Anyone can touch a button, but only those who take the time to show they really care by sending a handwritten thank you can touch a heart.
I strongly agree with you. Though I am not in sales, rather activities. We hold a huge party every year in which I ask vendors for donations. Every year I send a hand written thank you. Every year the vendors are repeat donors with new ones being added as well. Additionally I have vendors volunteer their own teen children to work in my community. All from the power of the pen!
Nice to see “old fashioned” still works…it does for me!!