Hey Ambassadors!
Associate Broker with Greenridge Realty in Grand Rapids, Mich., Dave DeBruyn remains the top contender of the Notevember Challenge and has no plans of relinquishing his Notewriting title anytime soon. As a force to be reckoned with, he has reigned for the last five years, and if you’re thinking about taking the title from him this year, you’d better bring it on because DeBruyn is ready for another knockout month in November.
So what’s all the fuss about Notevember?
Realtors, entrepreneurs and professionals are gearing up for Notevember. Nope, that wasn’t a typo. I really did mean Notevember, not November. It’s a fun yet thoughtful challenge for professionals to write 30 notes in the 30 days of November to clients, colleagues, contacts, mentors, referrals, neighbors, troops, friends and friends of friends; or anyone they would like to thank for contributing to their success in some way or another. The challenge was in 2013 and was designed with an idea in mind to return back to the basics, a sort of old-school approach, if you will. No emails, no tweeting, no direct messages via Facebook or Instagram, but it’s all about a personalized and simple form of communication to express thanks and appreciation by using an ordinary pen and paper.
With 38 years of realtor experience under his belt, DeBruyn has always been a huge supporter of the Notevember challenge. “It hit my hot button to the point that I always believed the basics work in this business. And to actually get involved in a campaign Mike was starting that would literally allow you to thank someone personally, there was nothing that would stop me from being a participant,” said DeBruyn.
And a few of those simple yet powerful basics include using letters and envelopes without a company name, blue ink (signifies authenticity plus it is a common favorite color), and adding a P.S. at the bottom of the letter with a call to action to encourage the receiver to respond (phone call, invite, etc.).
“The letter comes to them personalized . . . and when you open it up, it has a small paragraph, thanking them for whatever happened that year you’re grateful for,” DeBruyn said about the hand-crafted notes. “People really respect getting something in the mail handwritten that you took the time to send them. It’s unbelievable what happens when you send it out,” he added.
DeBruyn’s Strategic Approach to Notes
Part of strategizing your notes is about prioritizing the folks in your database. “My treasure 20 are my top ambassadors in my database who give referrals to me throughout the year. They’re my initial send out on day one. And I qualify them as the top 20 of my treasured people.” He then proceeds to send notes to the rest of his contacts, then businesses, military, vendors and everyone else he’s made contact with that year…
(Read more at ReferralsMagazine.com)
P.S. Speaking of Notevember and the POWER of Notes…