What is Your Mailing Address?

Check your mailbox. No, not your email inbox, your actual mailbox at the office or at your home. Chances are, it’s populated with what we would refer to as junk mail. Seventy percent of the mail in our mailboxes these days is marketing mail. The average home receives up to 10 pieces of marketing mail per week.

So what? Who cares and why does this matter to me in sales?

As live events and conventions start up again, thousands of people will connect and share their contact information. As I was sorting through collected business cards from last week’s conference in preparation for sending follow-up cards and notes, a disturbing trend revealed itself. About 40% of them do not have a mailing address on them. You know, that “snail mail” stuff that nobody uses anymore? Worse, I went to the websites of these folks to locate addresses in the “Contact Us” section and had no luck there either!

The fact that “nobody” uses snail mail anymore is exactly why you should love it. It will help you stand out from everyone else who is face-planted in an electronic device.

Every year, the U.S. Postal Service publishes a report: The Household Diary Study; Mail Use & Attitudes. If you’d like a copy of the 2019 report, the latest available, EMAIL me and I’ll be happy to send you a copy. The 2019 report shows a 9.8% decline in personal mail and an 18.6% decline in “nonholiday” cards. The average person receives a handwritten note every 12 weeks!

Think of the difference you would make for your top five advertisers or prospects if you stopped right now and wrote them a handwritten thank-you note.

If you’re like me, you have a file folder called ‘Thank-You Notes.’ It feels good to get a piece of mail in someone’s handwriting. It shows they took the extra time to think about you and write a simple note. It sure stood out in today’s “snail mail,” more so than being one of the more than 120 emails in my inbox.

Be different. What’s old is new again. Write a handwritten note today and see what kind of reaction you get.

Think Big, Make Big Things Happen!

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@RAB.com. You can also connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.