“It was nice to meet you.”
Clearly those six words aren’t very difficult to write. They’re also easy to understand. They don’t imply anything. They aren’t asking for anything. In spite of its simplicity, that short sentence can be one of your more powerful marketing statements – when you write it in a greeting card.
If you send a greeting card to someone within a day or two (at most) of meeting them and include just those six words plus the recipient’s name and your name, here’s what you’ve accomplished:
• You’ve acknowledged someone’s existence.
• You’ve made a positive statement about them, to them, without going overboard.
• You’ve demonstrated courtesy.
• You’ve demonstrated their professionalism by virtue of their providing you with their address.
• You’ve demonstrated your own professionalism by getting, keeping, and using their address to make contact.
• You’ve shown that you take positive action and don’t just float by meeting people.
• You’ve revealed that you may have a systematic method for contacting people and that you implement it – both gives positive impressions about your professionalism.
• While you’ve not commited to or asked anything, you’ve opened the door for more contact, whether it’s a response from the other person or more follow up on your part.
• You’ve also shown that even though you’re in business, you aren’t just about making sales, which can be a relief to others and allow them to feel better about continued contact, including the likely much more welcomed sales opportunity
Pretty cool, huh? You’ve done a lot with that simple card. If the card itself is personalized (like with their photo, or something personal (but still apppropriate) about you), then the effect can be even greater, but by sending a simple card you have laid good groundwork for building a new business relationship.
It’s interesting that the same exact words, “It was nice to meet you,” when spoke on leaving are almost social throw-aways and don’t really have much weight (though they are important enough that you shouldn’t neglect them). If you want to be in the top few percent who will actually follow up after meeting someone, and do it in a professional, none sales-y way, those same six words take on much more power.
