A Lady of Letters
I've been knocking around the personal and business development industry for over twenty years and I regularly get reminders that it's not the "rocket science" stuff that creates success. I mentioned such a moment in the last edition of Coach's Notes when I told the story of Lee and her weekly matchmaking time (See "Social Capitalism"). I had another reminder Tuesday morning when I talked to Nina.
I first met Nina some 9 years ago when I was invited over to the law office she ran with her husband. I was fairly new in the sales training business and was there to help find ways for them to develop more business.
I've seen Nina off and on through the years though we never really talked much after that first meeting. But a few years ago she began to show up very differently than I had known her before. There was a focus and confidence I hadn't seen previously. She seemed happier, more purposeful.
I had a few moments to chat with her after a networking breakfast in Fort Worth. She shared with me that she was about to receive her 2nd diamond ring from Mary Kay. She proudly showed me her first ring and we joked about her doing a Michael Jordan and getting one for each finger. I asked her what the ring actually stood for and she explained that it meant she was in the top 2% producers in the company. (To put that into perspective, according to the Mary Kay website as of 2003 there are 950,000 independent beauty consultants in 33 countries.) I looked at her and thought to myself, "now that's interesting. She is leading 98% of the company and here she is at a breakfast in Fort Worth at 7 AM." (I've been married to a lovely lady for nearly 26 years now and I appreciate there’s a lot more to arriving at 7 AM for a lady than a guy. Heck, we guys pretty much shower & get dressed and we're done. If you don't know what I'm talking about fellas, try adding makeup, a curling iron, hairspray and pantyhose to your early morning routine!)
Back to my point. Here Nina was, at the top of her company and still doing the basics. I then asked her one of my favorite questions. I wanted to know what was the "one thing" she would name that was responsible for her success. With just the briefest of pauses she said, "I write notes to people every day”. Her daily goal was 10.
“Duh-slap” time again!!
How many times have you been told by mom, sales managers, coaches, trainers, gurus, whoever, to tell people you are thinking about and appreciate them? How often do you get a note, a card, a thank-you yourself? How do you feel when you receive that kind of acknowledgement?
My personal experience with note writing dates back to the mid-eighties when my one and only job was to bring new business into our accounting office. I had been trained to handwrite thank you notes every day and was doing so. I found the level of connection I had with people was profound. Years afterward I would be in someone's office and notice a note I had written them sitting on their desk or a shelf in plain view. How often, I wondered, do these people get any kind of acknowledgement? It must be seldom for that short, simple, almost illegible (sadly, my handwriting hasn't much improved) note to have meant that much to them.
Vince Lombardi, the legendary football coach, is reputed to have started each season's practice by holding up a football and explaining what it was, and that the purpose of the game is to move the ball from one end of the field to the other. Fundamental, right? But it's the fundamentals, which, if ignored or poorly executed, make all the "rocket science" stuff irrelevant. Nina executed the fundamental of connecting with and deepening her networks of relationships by letting people know they mattered. It put her in the winner’s circle.
And you can make it happen to you, too.
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