Recently, I emailed a proposal to a client for a new project. I put a lot of thought/work into it so naturally I was hopeful that it got through and would be received favorably. Then an interesting thing happened.
My client replied almost instantly from his cell phone thanking me for the proposal and notifying me that he would look it over when he got back to his office and had some time.
This struck me as especially thoughtful and courteous because:
- He is the client, so it is not really up to him to respond or follow up.
- Just as a general rule, most people will wait until they have a chance to review the material to respond, which often takes time and the gap can be stressful to the side waiting to hear some feedback.
But this particular person has decided to elevate his email etiquette…just a notch.
It only takes a minute or so to respond, but the effect is to distinguish himself as someone who likes and respects the people he deals with enough to acknowledge them with this simple but powerful gesture. Since he is in sales himself, he is particularly sensitive to both buyers and sellers and respects both sides of the relationship. I think this is very cool.
This is one of those learning moments I love, that come up from time to time in our Selling Through Relationship work. I am most certainly going to adopt this simple gesture now as a habit of my own. Will you?
