"Give Me Some Sugar, Baby!"

I am a year or two into my fourth decade in the promotional products industry. I have a lot of experience and a lot of solutions under my belt. (I also have some pretty sharp slacks under my belt, but this isn't a fashion blog, so don't confuse me with the facts.) The point is ... there are always opportunities to learn, to grow, to approach things fresh and different, to keep yourself energized and productive no matter how long you've been at this branding game.

I had such an opportunity last month. One of the many duties I have the pleasure to perform is as the Editor of The SAAC Times, the monthly newsletter of The Specialty Advertising Association of California (SAAC). I've been doing this for about three years and enjoy working with the SAAC staff to produce what many consider to be the best regional newsletter in our industry! Last month, I was editing the current issue. It's easy, when editing, to focus on spelling, punctuation, sentence fragments and errors and not to actually PROCESS the information. But one article, about appreciation and giving thanks, was so well done, it really resonated with me. And I learned something. And I made a change in our daily activities here in the HALO Branded Solutions Chatsworth office because of it.

The article talked about thanking clients for orders. All clients and all orders, big or small. Showing sincere appreciation for their business by sending them a HAND-WRITTEN thank-you card in the MAIL with a POSTAGE STAMP on it. Remember those? Not an email or a text. But actually picking up a pen and writing out a card with genuine human feeling and, if you're left-handed, ink-smudges. Further, it talked about thanking suppliers for coming in, buying lunch and hosting a presentation.