Every morning for many years George Bush (père) sat down at an old typewriter and pounded out pithy, personal notes to people whom he wanted to thank or otherwise touch bases with. It was his stock and trade and key to network building. His success resulted from the attitude that brought him to write so many thank you notes.
There’s more and something even better. I figured out one day a bunch of years ago that when I felt really down in the dumps, exceptionally bummed out, I could make myself feel cosmically better by doing something nice for or saying something nice to someone else. It worked like magic. What had begun as a rotten, disgusting day suddenly saw the sun burst through, and I felt great. Just as wonderful was that the person whom I had done something nice for or said something nice to had just as great a day.
You can work the same magic in your rental property business. You value your good tenants as good customers, so why not tell them? Your tenants don’t know how much you appreciate them unless you say so. Writing thank you notes is a terrific way to do just that. Best of all, tenants who feel appreciated may have to be dragged out of your rental property by a huge raise and job transfer.
Anyone can send out thank you notes, but very few people do. They don’t for a variety of reasons, none of them much good. The top 10 reasons are:
I’m too busy. (But you’re not too busy to find a new tenant.)
I don’t have the time. (But you have time to wait in someone’s office for an appointment.)
I’m too lazy. (Well, what can I say. Write them lying down or watching TV.)
I don’t know how to write well. (They don’t have to be long notes, just a few words.)
It’s too much trouble. (Finding new good tenants is a lot more trouble.)
Do you know how much stamps cost these days? (Less than an ad in the newspaper and a month’s vacancy.)
I don’t have the discipline. (You do if you decide you do.)
What’s wrong with a phone call? (See the answer below.)
What about email? (Yes, that’s nice, but not nearly as nice as something you wrote yourself. Besides, people get so much email that yours might get chewed up in the spam filter.)
There are so many letters I haven’t replied to. (So that means you won’t write anything?)
A note is far more effective than just a verbal thank you. The difference in impact between verbally saying thank you and writing a personal thank-you note is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug. Neil Simon in his famous play Biloxi Blues narrates through his lead role, “There is something magic about the written word. People seem to embrace it more if it is written. There is a sense of permanency with a message that has been put on paper.”
“‘Thank you’ is an investment in your relationship with the person whom you are writing to.” adds Wajed Salam in the book Marketing Magic. “It promotes growth and development. It nurtures new friendship. It fosters teamwork. It expresses your commitment and caring that you have taken the time to write. Any relationship grows and develops better when given time, energy and attention.”
Here’s an important caveat when you write thank you notes: you have to mean it; you do have to truly care. Under no circumstances do you write thank you notes simply to manipulate another person. People can always tell if someone is trying to manipulate them; it feels sleazy, greasy and slimy. They may not be able to put their fingers exactly on what it is that makes them feel uncomfortable, but they don’t like it. The result—it has the opposite effect from what you intended.
Most landlords do care about their tenants, in fact often too much and the wrong ones. It’s the bad or marginal ones, the ones who manipulate us who seem to attract most of our “care.” Why not care about your good tenants? After all, they are your good customers and are good neighbors.
As I have said before, you don’t have to be a lot better to stand head and shoulders above other landlords, just a little better. Receiving thank you notes will simply astound most tenants and raise you much higher in their estimation. Best of all, it gets you thinking about and appreciating good tenants rather than bad ones.
