After helping businesses get more referrals I’ve concluded that the number one method to getting more referrals is to simply develop a very close and personal relationship with your customers or clients through regular contact, so that when the time is right, they will remember you for their own needs and will also refer their friends, relatives and colleagues who need your products or services.

The very best way I’ve found to keep in personal touch is by sending greeting cards.   I'm not the only one who has discovered this. 

A little-known secret from the most successful referral marketer of all time . . .

Have you ever heard of Joe Girard? Joe Girard was honored by the Guinness Book of World Records for selling more cars than any single person in history, 12 times achieving the top vehicle sales in the world. In his best year he sold 1425 units, all retail (no fleet sales). Click here to learn more about Joe.

His secret weapon? Greeting cards.

Employing two assistants out of his own pocket, “Joe sent out nearly 13,000 greeting cards a month to his customers, celebrating everything from Halloween to Groundhog Day,” according to the Detroit News.  Joe Girard proved, without doubt, that greeting cards inspire customer loyalty. Joe proved that greeting cards motivate customers to refer their friends.

Of course, it was not the paper or colorful ink that did the trick. It was a man who cared enough to recognize and honor his customers’ birthdays, anniversaries and holidays. The simple act of sending greeting cards aroused a sense of loyalty in his clients. And when they or someone they knew needed a new car, he was always the person they sought out.

Greeting cards are the ultimate business tools in three critical areas:
1. Converting new business contacts into active clients, customers or patients.
2. Transforming casual customers into loyal customers.
3. Making sure that your best customers remain your best customers.

How about this concept? Any photo on your computer can be uploaded in about 60 seconds. What if you were to print the image inside the card -- in bright vibrant color -- right next to your handwritten message!

Greeting cards can be used to keep loyal clients & generate referrals!

Picture these possibilities:

• Scene #1: You are a real estate agent. You take a digital photo of your clients standing in front of their new house. You suggest, “Why don’t we send this picture to 10 of your closest friends?”

• Scene #2: You are a sales professional. You take a digital photo of your customers standing in front of their new car, or their new boat or their new recreational vehicle. You ask them — “Would you like me to send this picture to a few members of your family?”

Here is the really fun part! Check back with your customers in about 10 days. This is what you will discover:

• Most of your customers’ friends and family have called to offer their congratulations.
• Your customers are overflowing with enthusiasm about a simple photograph that you sent as part of a greeting card.
• They think you are the greatest. (Consider the future referrals this will generate for you.)
• You, in turn, contact their friends and relatives (who are now turbo-charged referrals.)

The potential is limited only by your imagination:

• A picture of you shaking hands with your clients at your office, printed inside your personal “thank you” card that says, “I appreciate your business.”
• A picture of you and a new business contact at a luncheon or business event, printed inside your personal “I’m so happy to have met you!” card.
• A picture of your vacation in Maui, uploaded from the hotel computer (in Maui) — “Wish you were here.”

Armed only with a digital camera, a shrewd businessperson will revitalize his or her bottom line by utilizing greeting cards correctly.

What stops people from sending greeting cards?

• It’s inconvenient and time-consuming to drive to the card shop to pick out the right card.  If you buy cards ahead of time, the cards you have in stock are often not “quite right” for the person you want to send it to.  Once you’ve bought it, you have to carve out the time to find the address, address the envelope, find a stamp, and write a message in the card.
• They’re expensive.  In most cases, cards are $3-5 each these days, plus the postage and the cost of gas to get to the card shop and the post office.
• We forget.  We may have written down birthdays or other important occasions to remember, but then we forget to send the card at the right time.

Use this system

to get all the referrals you can handle!

Have you ever wanted to send a card to someone but forget to do it or you simply didn’t have time to do it?

Have you ever wanted to send a series of follow up notes to a business prospect or customer, but didn’t have a system to keep track of who and when to send it to?

Our system solves these problems...
When I meet someone at an event or when someone conducts business with me, I make a point of getting the person’s mailing address and sometimes even their birth date. I then put that information into the reminder system.  A week before their birthday, the system reminds me to send a birthday card to them.

Next, I pick out an appropriate greeting card (there are over 12,000 greeting cards to choose from), write a short note to the person, and then I click a button and it gets mailed on whatever date I want it to go out.

For those prospects, clients and referral partners you want to stay in touch with regularly, you can send a card a month with one single click of a mouse. 

Here's how it works...you can choose from the 12,0000+ cards provided, or you can custom design your own cards for less than a dollar using one of our many incredible features.  Then you set up a multiple-piece mailing campaign using a combination of thank you cards, holiday cards, cards sharing suggestions or tips that showcase your expertise, invitations to a public workshop or teleclass you are offering, requests for referrals – anything to keep your name in front of them each month. 

Every time someone purchases your products or services, enter their name into the system and send your campaign cards with the single click of a mouse. It’s that simple!  The campaign system mail merges the name into the salutation and includes your personal note (printed with your own handwriting and signature), then addresses, stuffs, licks, stamps (with a real stamp) and takes it to the post office on the date you have specified. Over the coming months, your customer will receive hand-written, personalized cards from you without you lifting a finger!

What is a return customer or a referral worth to you?

If you were to send a monthly campaign, this entire 12-month campaign will only cost you $12 to stay in touch with them for the next year, without lifting a finger. Or if you sent cards quarterly, it would only cost you $4. You determine how often you wish to keep in touch, and we do the rest!

Studies have shown that in most industries, sales are made after 7 contacts with your prospect. Yet, the vast majority of businesses have NO follow-up system in place. Furthermore, once you attract a new customer, they can easily go elsewhere if they don't feel like you care about their business or if they just forget about you. Historically, follow-up has been expensive and time-consuming…until now!

If you can enter a name and address and push a button, you can launch a personalized relationship-building program with your prospects and customers. Imagine how this system could set you apart from every one else trying to get your prospects’ attention!  With just the click of a mouse, you can send a series of personally customized postcards or greeting cards to your prospects and customers without ever touching a single card. It’s incredible!

Building on that “know-like-trust” factor is essential to attracting customers.  The number one reason people give for buying something is that they liked the sales person. What better way to establish a powerful relationship of admiration, appreciation and trust than with a sequence of sincere greeting cards!

Eric Anderson
405-834-3961
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