Have you ever heard the the saying… “The last thing you do is the most important thing you do”? I can’t tell you how many movies I’ve watched over the years that were quite good, up until the last thing. Either it had a terrible ending, it left too many loose ends or something like that. That last thing changed my entire opinion of the movie.
I found myself a while back in the unenviable position of getting to teach young kids. Being that my wife is a former kindergarten teacher I went to her for advice. Here’s what she said… no matter what you do make sure you end your time with the kids on a high note. She said no matter how much you mess things up (she obviously knew I would), no matter how poorly you think you did, if you end on a high note that’s what the kids will remember. They’ll remember the last thing. I’ve since found that principle works with adults as well.
We constantly talk about advocacy. The best employees have been tracking the leads their advocates have sent them over the course of this year. Now it’s time to end on a high note. Talking to several business development officers over the course of the past few weeks I’ve sadly come to the conclusion that the vast majority haven’t given a whole lot of thought about the business their advocates have sent them and what they might do as a special thank you for these advocates. I challenge you to start thinking about a plan of what you are going to do to end the year on a high note with these advocates. How will you thank them? Hopefully you’ll do more than the basic Christmas card every other banker sends out. Set yourself apart, let them know you appreciate their business and put some thought and effort into it. Remember, all advocates are not the same. Thank each of them differently based on what you know about them as well as how valuable each of them are. End on a high note and you’ll set the stage for a remarkable 2011.
