The Chris Voss Show - Rick Elmore, CEO and Founder of Simply Noted - Real Handwritten Notes to Scale

Summary

In this episode of 'The Chris Bosh Show', host Chris Voss interviews Rick Elmore, the founder and CEO of Simply Noted, a company specializing in automated handwritten communication. Elmore discusses his entrepreneurial journey, the development of their proprietary handwriting robot, and the benefits of personalized handwritten notes in a digital age. The conversation highlights how Simply Noted helps businesses enhance client relationships and stand out through unique marketing strategies, emphasizing the power of personal touch in sales and customer retention.

Takeaways

• 😀 Chris Bosh hosts a podcast featuring successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders.
• 🎓 The guest, Rick Elmore, is the founder and CEO of Simply Noted, a company specializing in automated handwritten communication.
• 🤖 Simply Noted has developed a proprietary handwriting robot to scale personalized handwritten notes, enhancing personal touch in digital times.
• 📈 The company has experienced significant growth since its founding in 2018, with a wide range of clients across various industries.
• 🏆 Rick's background includes being a professional athlete in the NFL and later transitioning into corporate sales and eventually entrepreneurship.
• 💡 The idea for Simply Noted was sparked during Rick's MBA program, where he learned about the high success rates of handwritten notes.
• 💼 Simply Noted integrates with various CRM and software platforms, allowing businesses to automate and scale their relationship-building efforts.
• 💌 Handwritten notes have a 99% open rate and are highly appreciated, making them an effective marketing and relationship-building tool.
• 📊 The service offers a high return on investment, with increased client retention and referral rates, and is cost-effective compared to traditional marketing methods.
• 🔗 Rick emphasizes the importance of passion and perseverance in entrepreneurship, and offers advice for those considering starting their own business.

Q & A

What is the name of the company Rick Elmore founded?

Rick Elmore founded the company called Simply Noted.

What unique service does Simply Noted provide?

Simply Noted provides a service that automates and scales handwritten communication, using a proprietary technology that puts real pen and ink to paper to scale.

What is the significance of handwritten notes in the digital age according to the podcast?

Handwritten notes are considered a lost art that Simply Noted is bringing back, as they have a high open rate and are appreciated in a digital age where such personal touches are rare.

What was Rick Elmore's background before starting Simply Noted?

Before starting Simply Noted, Rick Elmore was a competitive athlete, played in the NFL for three years, and then transitioned into corporate sales where he found success and was named 'Rookie of the Year'.

How did Rick Elmore come up with the idea for Simply Noted?

The idea for Simply Noted came during Rick's MBA program when his professor highlighted the effectiveness of handwritten notes in marketing, which inspired him to combine this personal touch with technology.

What is the business model of Simply Noted?

Simply Noted is a customer-funded company with no loans, debt, or investors. It serves businesses across various industries to help them stand out through unique marketing platforms and build meaningful relationships.

What is the role of the handwriting robot in Simply Noted's service?

The handwriting robot is at the core of Simply Noted's business, as it is used to produce high-quality, personalized handwritten notes that are sent out to clients, customers, and employees.

How does Simply Noted integrate with other software platforms?

Simply Noted integrates with various software platforms like CRMs, Shopify, Salesforce, Zoho, MailChimp, HubSpot, and Zapier through API integrations, allowing for seamless automation of handwritten note sending.

What are some of the benefits of using Simply Noted's service according to the podcast?

Using Simply Noted's service can lead to a 300 percent higher open rate versus print mail, 7 times ROI versus print mail, and improved client retention, which can increase profits by 25 to 95 percent.

How does Simply Noted ensure the personal touch in the notes it sends?

Simply Noted ensures a personal touch by using real pen and ink to write on the cards and envelopes, with no branding or logos, making it appear as if the note was handwritten by the sender.

Outlines

00:00

🎙️ Introduction to the Chris Bosh Show

The Chris Bosh Show is introduced as a top-tier podcast featuring influential guests such as CEOs, authors, and thought leaders. The host, Chris Voss, sets an energetic tone, promising an educational and exciting journey for listeners. The podcast aims to engage with a wide audience, including friends, family, and those interested in entrepreneurial insights. The show is available on various platforms, including YouTube, LinkedIn, and Goodreads. The guest for this episode is Rick Elmore, the founder and CEO of Simply Noted, a company specializing in scaling handwritten communication through proprietary technology.

05:01

🏈 Rick Elmore's Journey to Entrepreneurship

Rick Elmore shares his background as an athlete, including his competitive spirit and NFL career with the Green Bay Packers. After retiring from sports, he transitioned into corporate sales, where he found success but felt the urge to do more. This led him to pursue an MBA, which sparked the idea for Simply Noted. The company's mission is to revive the personal touch in communication through automated, handwritten notes, leveraging Rick's sales and marketing experience to create a unique service that stands out in a digital world.

10:02

💌 The Power of Handwritten Notes in Business

The conversation highlights the effectiveness of handwritten notes in business, emphasizing their high open rates and the personal touch they provide. Simply Noted's service is positioned as a way to enhance relationship building and brand loyalty. The company's technology automates the process of sending personalized notes, making it scalable for various industries. Rick discusses the importance of referrals and how Simply Noted's service can help businesses maintain client relationships and increase customer retention.

15:02

🤖 The Handwriting Robot and Its Impact

Rick Elmore explains the development of Simply Noted's handwriting robot, a unique technology that sets the company apart. The robot enables the company to offer high-quality, handwritten notes at scale. The discussion touches on the importance of standing out in a competitive market and the psychological impact of receiving a handwritten note. The service is designed to be integrated into existing CRM systems or used with simple spreadsheets, making it accessible to businesses of all sizes.

20:04

📈 Business Growth and Customer Retention Strategies

The conversation delves into the business benefits of Simply Noted's service, including increased customer retention and the potential for higher profits through relationship building. Rick shares statistics that illustrate the effectiveness of handwritten notes compared to traditional print mail. The service is also shown to be a tool for businesses to request referrals and handle customer feedback, providing an opportunity to address any issues and improve the customer experience.

25:07

🔗 Integration and Automation with CRM Systems

Rick discusses how Simply Noted's service can be integrated with various CRM and software platforms, such as Shopify, Salesforce, and MailChimp, to automate the process of sending handwritten notes. This automation helps businesses maintain relationships with clients efficiently. The service is also capable of handling bulk mailings and can include additional inserts like business cards or gift cards, providing a comprehensive solution for businesses looking to enhance their communication strategies.

30:08

🎉 Conclusion and Call to Action

The episode concludes with Rick offering advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, emphasizing the importance of passion and perseverance. He invites listeners to visit Simply Noted's website to request a free sample kit and connect with him on LinkedIn for further discussions. The host, Chris Voss, wraps up the show by encouraging listeners to engage with the podcast on various social media platforms and appreciates their tuning in.

Keywords

💡Handwritten Notes

Handwritten notes refer to messages or correspondence that are written by hand, as opposed to being typed or printed. In the context of the video, the guest entrepreneur discusses how his company, Simply Noted, uses technology to bring back the personal touch of handwritten notes in a digital age. The script mentions that these notes have a high open rate and are appreciated by recipients, making them a powerful tool for relationship building in business.

💡Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is an individual who starts and runs their own business, often taking on financial risks to do so. The guest on the podcast, Rick, is described as an entrepreneur who founded Simply Noted. His background as an athlete and his competitive nature are highlighted as traits that led him to entrepreneurship, where he could apply his skills in a new arena.

💡Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing are key business functions focused on promoting and selling products or services. The script discusses how Simply Noted's technology aids in entrepreneurial sales and marketing by automating the process of sending handwritten notes, a strategy that stands out in a crowded digital marketplace and helps businesses to scale their communication efforts.

💡Personalization

Personalization refers to the customization of a product or service to meet individual customer preferences. In the script, the concept is central to the service Simply Noted provides, where handwritten notes are personalized with the recipient's name and other details, making the communication feel more intimate and increasing its impact.

💡Technology Integration

Technology integration is the process of combining different technological systems and tools to work together seamlessly. The video script mentions how Simply Noted's service can integrate with various software platforms like CRMs, allowing businesses to automate the sending of handwritten notes, thus enhancing efficiency and personal touch in customer relations.

💡Innovation

Innovation refers to the introduction of new ideas or methods. The script highlights the innovative aspect of Simply Noted's business model, which involves developing a proprietary handwriting robot to scale the process of writing personalized notes, blending traditional methods with modern technology.

💡Customer Retention

Customer retention is the ability of a company to keep its customers over time. The video emphasizes the importance of maintaining relationships with clients, and how Simply Noted's service can help businesses improve customer retention rates by sending personalized, handwritten notes that make clients feel valued and appreciated.

💡Digital World

The digital world refers to the environment in which technology and the internet play a significant role in daily activities. The script contrasts the digital world with the personal touch of handwritten notes, suggesting that in an increasingly digital age, the uniqueness and impact of physical, handwritten communication stand out.

💡API Integration

API (Application Programming Interface) integration allows different software applications to communicate with each other. The script mentions that Simply Noted's service can be integrated via API, which means businesses can connect their existing systems to Simply Noted's platform to automate the process of sending out handwritten notes.

💡Relationship Building

Relationship building is the process of establishing and maintaining positive interactions with others. The video script underscores the importance of relationship building in business, and how Simply Noted's service aids in this by enabling businesses to send personalized notes that strengthen connections with clients, employees, and other stakeholders.

💡Scalability

Scalability is the ability of a system or process to handle a growing amount of work. The script discusses how Simply Noted's technology allows businesses to scale their handwritten note efforts, sending out a large volume of personalized notes efficiently, which is crucial for businesses looking to expand their customer outreach.

Highlights

Chris Bosh introduces the podcast featuring conversations with top entrepreneurs and thought leaders.

The show's guest is Rick Elmore, founder and CEO of Simply Noted, a company specializing in scaling handwritten communication.

Simply Noted uses proprietary technology to bring the personal touch of handwritten notes to digital communication.

Rick Elmore shares his background as an athlete and his transition to entrepreneurship after playing in the NFL.

The idea for Simply Noted was born in an MBA class where Rick learned about the high success rates of handwritten notes.

Simply Noted has developed its own handwriting robot, with six pending patents, to automate the handwriting process.

The company has grown to serve clients across various industries without external funding, relying solely on customer funding.

Rick discusses the importance of personal touch in marketing and how Simply Noted helps businesses stand out.

Simply Noted integrates with various software platforms, allowing for easy automation of handwritten note sending.

The service can handle sending a wide range of note quantities, from single notes to hundreds of thousands.

Simply Noted's process is fully in-house, from printing to handwriting with their robot and mailing.

Rick emphasizes the high open and engagement rates of handwritten notes compared to other forms of communication.

The company offers a sample kit to potential customers, allowing them to experience the quality of the handwritten notes.

Simply Noted can include various inserts like gift cards, business cards, and flyers in the mailed notes.

Rick shares advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, highlighting the personal and professional growth opportunities in starting a business.

The podcast concludes with Rick providing his contact information and website for those interested in Simply Noted's services.

Transcripts

[Music]

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for tuning in as always for the show to

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can go to youtube.com Fortress Chris

Foss follow the show on LinkedIn the big

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goodreads.com for Access today we have

an amazing entrepreneur on the show he's

gonna be talking about this company this

company is called simply noted he is the

founder and CEO of the company which is

in entrepreneurial sales and marketing

company and uh he developed a

proprietary technology that puts real

pen and ink to paper to scale

handwritten communication kind of a lost

art a dead art if you will but he's

bringing it back so that we can bring

that personality back to uh our

Communications and thanking people and

uh who knew I I got to tell you when

people send me handwritten notes I

actually keep them uh we know what else

gets thrown away uh my thing and we

often thought that we need to be doing

more than ourselves

um with his company to scale handwritten

communication he helps businesses of all

Industries scale and this unique

marketing platform to stand out from

their competition and build meaningful

relationships with clients customers and

employees founded in 2018 and based in

Tempe Arizona simply noted has grown

into a thriving company with clients of

various sizes across the country

including Hospitality real estate

Insurance non-profit franchise B2B and

others he served as the company CEOs as

his founding for more than four years

and has been over a decade of sales and

marketing industry experience behind him

uh welcome to the show Rick how are you

I'm doing great it's great to be here

thanks for having me Chris

thanks for coming it's great to have you

as well give us the dot coms wherever

you want people to find you on the

interwebs

yeah I mean they can just go to our

website

simplynoted.com it's just how it's

spelled SS and Sam I Am as in Mary ply

noted.com or just go to LinkedIn I'm on

LinkedIn basically all day it's my

number one like social platform tool

um just look for Rick Elmore I do a

pretty good job of getting back people

who reach out um you know within an hour

or so there you go so give us a little

bit of history on you how did you grow

up what was your background what got you

interested in being an entrepreneur

yeah it's a great question so um you

know I I kind of grew grew up in like a

middle class family I had two uh very

loving supporting parents that were like

small business owner entrepreneurs more

like 1099 contractors my mom was a

medical biller

um my stepdad also my football coach

um for 12 years he was a contractor so

we grew up you know being his muscle

making some money on the weekends hiking

things up and down the ladder but grew

up as an athlete I was extremely

competitive in my entire life kind of

quiet more reserved but I always kind of

had like an inner fire highly

competitive always wanted to be better

um you know I don't know why it just

kind of was the way it was my parents

aren't at all like super competitive

they've always been like kind of a lot

other us to be in the spotlight it was

and it was really nice to have parents

like that but yeah I grew up athlete

went to the University of Arizona on a

full-ride scholarship with my twin

brother

um had a pretty good career there I was

a three-year starter for Mike Stoops and

Mark Stoops a pretty good

football-minded defensive gurus back in

the day

um had a really good uh Junior and

Senior year led the pac-10 back then in

multiple stack categories

um tackles for lost sacks you know

pretty important stats for my position

and then was drafted into the NFL in

2011 to the Green Bay Packers

yeah got to live out my childhood dream

played in the NFL for three years but uh

eventually you know the you know you

have to hang the shoulder pads and

cleats and that's what I did and

um was kind of lost for a little bit

like a lot of athletes you know that

that transition to life that for sports

pretty tough because it's just so

different and I could talk for five

hours about you know why it's so

different but

um did with what a lot of guys did got

into competitive corporate sales you

know offered a lot of the same things

highly competitive highly rewarding it

was challenging it was uh you know you

know it was a really I mean it was a it

was a good career but after

getting more success there my my first

year in corporate sales I was

turkey of the Year basically just took

everything I was good at an athlete

um hard work passion desire perseverance

strength grit get knocked down eight

times or get knocked down eight times

get up nine times

um and then they you know the next five

years uh it's either top one percent or

top uh five reps in my company

but just had like an itch I couldn't

scratch

um you know so I went back and did my

MBA my MBA in 2017 and that's where the

idea for my current business started

about a year into my program I was in a

marketing class and I had a professor

going over all the success rates in

marketing and um

everything was super nominal like super

unimpressive email cold call Direct Mail

all these digital forms for like

single-digit success rates and he he

ends the the lecture about three hours

into this lecture my brain is just like

you know numb from all these stats he's

giving us and he just he says the most

important thing I probably heard in my

my professional career you know the

light bulb moment was hey guys you know

what still works better than ever is a

good old-fashioned handwritten note you

know it probably works better than ever

because you know we live in a digital

world it has a 99 open rate it's rare

people appreciate it

um so you know he basically was like you

know trying to tell us to be better

people and and focus on relationships

and and get more personal so I thought

that was a great idea and I mean there's

a lot more that came after that and I

know this is kind of a long introduction

but there's been a lot of pieces to this

puzzle but fast forward five years you

know we have 11 full-time employees

we've developed the world's best and

only purposely built handwriting robot

we've been invested over eight hundred

thousand dollars into this thing that's

six crap pending Patton

yeah six pending patents we have 380 000

users on our platform last month

um we're completely customer funded No

loan no debt no investors

um so the Journey's been wild but it's

been fun to say the least there you go

what's it like starting a company uh and

going through that I mean you're used to

working technically for other people in

the NFL and you know Sports and and I

imagine some of the competent

competitive nature that you had came

from Sports and being an athlete

yeah you know I think

I think you're kind of born with

something inside you that makes you want

to be an entrepreneur

um you know I I had I was really

comfortable in my corporate world you

know I was making really good money

um I was good at what I was doing it was

really easy to stand out because 90 of

people didn't really even try that hard

so those 10 of the people that actually

try and care and constantly want to get

better it's easy for them to rise to the

top and I've always prided myself on

somebody

um you know off the same you know hard

work beats Talent when talent doesn't

work hard I'm willing to work real hard

to to get or you know to earn what I

want to earn so

um it was a it was a little bit of a

shock you know going from being a W-2

employee to being responsible for W-2

employees

um because when you're a sales rep right

you're one problems basically to manage

the relationship with the client when

you're an entrepreneur every problem is

your problem you know

um right is that could that not be more

true yeah I used to tell people yeah

I used to tell people I'm the CEO in the

janitor

yeah seriously like we clean our own

office still so yeah you know I would

walk around my office and pick stuff up

off the floor mainly because I'm like I

don't want someone to trip over that or

fall because then I get sick but uh yeah

like I'm the only one who picks up stuff

around here other than the janitors

become a knife I just it was always

funny people be like what do you do I'm

the CEO and jander

yeah well I think you know being an

entrepreneur is an incredible

opportunity because the amount of

personal professional growth that you

get from being an entrepreneur is unlike

anything else to ever have in the world

I always tell anybody who wants to be an

entrepreneur if you can do it do it

because you'll you'll Jam 40 or 50 years

of corporate experience into five years

of being an entrepreneur because of just

all the self-development that you have

to do you have to learn you know sales

marketing you know building websites SEO

you know follow-up product development

you know you know taxes like everything

I mean everything about a company when

you're an entrepreneur you have to start

it out I mean as your business grows you

can delegate it but you're responsible

for everything in those first few years

there you go and we've talked about how

we've had authors on the company or head

authors on the podcast that have talked

about uh how important a personal touch

is how important it is to

um delve into your current clients and

ask for referrals from them as opposed

to uh just trying to get new clients

because the cost of of getting new

clients is usually vastly more expensive

than getting referrals from your current

base so how does your service help

people give us a kind of rundown over

you of what it does

yeah so those stats you just said are

extremely powerful and we talk about

that all the time in our business it

costs five times more to acquire a new

client than just upsell a current client

or a happy client 80 of your clients

don't feel appreciated so that's you

know eight out of ten of your clients

don't feel like they have a good

relationship with your brand of those 80

of those unappreciated clients 50 of

them will just try a new business or a

new product just because it's not for

any other reason besides they're just

not feel they don't feel committed to

you so what simply note it is is we try

to integrate automate and scale your

relationship in brand loyalty by sending

genuine personalized handwritten notes

and the way that we do that

is with software or just simple

spreadsheets you know so we can use you

know either our website you know a

zapier integration an API integration we

basically work with any you know

software that's open in 2023 we can

figure out a way to set up a trigger to

send a handwritten note but what we're

trying to do is just you know make new

you know what was old is make it new

again but we're just trying to add a

2023 you know technology twist tip with

a robot so you know at the core of our

business we're a relationship building

business but we do also have a lot of

people who send handwritten notes for

business development because the hand

the open rate is so high it's a 99 open

rate

nobody's competing this way everyone

doing the same thing that everybody else

is doing you know dming text messaging

knocking on a door cold calling right so

it's really hard to stand out nowadays

so we just really believe you know we're

a few years ahead of this

um we we think there's gonna be a

massive Resurgence for you know tangible

personal mail you know the further we

move into the digital and AI Revelation

or revolution

um and we're just excited to be a part

of it because we really do believe you

know the Personal Touch relationships

matter most to business

they really do and like I say I I have

handwritten notes sent to me the pr

companies will send one I think I

seen one recently

um yeah in fact uh I have one here uh

this is from uh Loom cube and uh so I'm

not so anyone's like Chris really

doesn't save Chris Lee doesn't save

cards that are in yeah they've written a

personal note here hi Chris hope you uh

love your curated press package uh and

uh their name in the company so um I

saved these like I really do I I feel

kind of guilty when I throw them away

like I really feel guilty like somebody

and and I think the novelty if you want

to call it that the uniqueness of it

because you know it's kind of like when

I call people and do sales now if I get

on the phone with people they're like

you really get on the phone with me hey

this is so weird but but it used to be

in my day when you were a Salesman and

probably in your day too when you sold

you know when you're doing phone sales

or when you're doing uh you know I would

have to drop by offices and get past

that what we call the gatekeeper you

know the secretary for the buyer agent

and for whatever the company was and

trying to get through her was a

nightmare and you know the guy's like

come on you know Chris I got like 100 of

you guys calling me a day and driving me

up a wall you know and uh and now when

you call people they're like oh we can

have a conversation this is really

unique we don't need no one does this

anymore so I think that's one of the

great uh unique aspects of the

handwritten thing and and what's what I

understand is about yours you've got six

patents and this is really a handwritten

pen that writes this this isn't like

just a print that looks like it's

written in autographing

right absolutely so um we spent about

three years developing our handwriting

robot we just got done a few few months

ago

um you know there's just so many

iterations that went into it

um we have six patents pending so three

design through utility

um we're the only company in the world

that's actually built their own

handwriting robot

um we do have there's obviously a

competition and everything that you do

right there's Apple Samsung Ford Chevy

right

um we're just the only company who's

actually built their own handwriting

robot some other companies just people

technology like an ax you draw pen

plotter and um to the average person you

know they may not know you know why

that's not a good option for them but

you know for the the big companies where

they need to have the best handwriting

quality the best you know quality you

know writing possible that's why we

built our handwriting robot because we

can control everything about it but um

like you just said you know you know

given the example of you know standing

out and starting off on the right foot

you know when you send a handwritten

note to those people you're

automatically in something different

which sets you apart so when you do

reach out again right after you do set

yourself apart in the beginning they're

more willing to talk to you so it may it

breaks down that wall it makes it a

little bit easier to get over especially

if you're in phone sales like I was in

medical sales a lot of it was face to

face so usually you can win on like your

personality you know having a good

conversation but when you're on the

phone it's really hard you know to

develop that Rapport because you can

feel energies right when you're with

somebody you can feel the authenticity

you can feel that they're comfortable

not comfortable and it's really hard to

do that over the phone or through a

screen so when you do send a handwritten

note that that impacts them right so

that that is an energy sharing you know

impactful important you know thing that

no one else is doing but when you do

reach out you're automatically starting

on a different foot than anybody else so

yeah I mean we I always say we drink our

own champagne over here

um I we use our own product all the time

you know for for marketing and

relationship building because it's just

it works you know handwritten notes work

and if there's tons of studies out there

um that just talked about the

effectiveness

um of open raids and how relationships

matter and we're just trying to make it

easy to do that there you go I mean

we've we've gotten handwritten notes

sent to us for the show thanks for

having us on the show

um we've got we get them from PR

agencies uh it just makes all the

difference but you know you guys really

help scale it so that if the companies

you know it's it's kind of easy for a

couple of these PR agencies because

there might be you know five people

working there it's easy for them to run

out of note to me but you guys really

help it go to scale where companies can

send anywhere from a small amount of

notes to a large amount of notes and

they can buy like a whole pack of them

talk to us a little bit about how that

works

yeah so you know where we really Thrive

is in the relationship building

Industries because if you think about it

like you know if you don't have a client

you don't have a job right so it's like

really easy to explain like if your

client doesn't pay their bill like your

business will fail so you know like the

insurance real estate mortgage you know

political you know um non-profit right

where relationships truly matter that's

where we Thrive and they have you know

hundreds if not thousands if not tens of

thousands of people that are involved

you know on that Journey with them and

it's really important for them to you

know keep them happy so that customer

attrition doesn't you know constantly

you know go down every single year

because the worst thing about building a

business is trying to keep a leaky

bucket filled right imagine just sitting

there non-stop right you have 100

clients but you lose 50 every year to

bring on 50 more like that is a

nightmare so we just operate really well

in those spaces where you know it's

really impossible to stay top of mind

you know all the time do it on time

right how do you Auto to meet a birthday

card you know for 500 people you're just

gonna get busy you're going to forget to

do it or how do you send a handwritten

note out once you're taking them for

their loyalty you just you can't do that

a thousand times and we just want to

make it easy for them to do that

definitely definitely and the numbers

don't lie uh quote some of the stats you

sent me

um it's uh you run into uh 300 percent

higher open rate versus print mail uh

use seven times Roi versus print mail

CPA is five times more expensive versus

maintaining current clients five percent

Improvement client retention increases

profits 25 to 95 percent

end up selling Arabic coins is 75 more

successful you know a lot of a lot of

people need that follow-up and then of

course this is probably a great way to

encourage referrals from people and also

uh maybe to identify problems if

somebody's not happy they go they go hey

I didn't really like the product or

maybe the product didn't work or maybe

they have questions that you can you

know I know with some of the Amazon

sales that I I when I buy stuff they'll

follow up with a questionnaire hey were

you happy uh can you give us some Stars

a referral

um uh you know is there any questions

you have and can kind of help identify

maybe think errors where you fell short

in the sales process or maybe the client

isn't quite happy and maybe it's

sometimes it's just an education thing

you have to go oh well you you put the

thing over that way instead of the other

way and and uh it works better for you

know something like that and that

client's like oh okay I was you know

using it wrong and uh so it gives you a

chance to identify uh problems or issues

that the client may have that may keep

them from coming back in the future here

yeah so like you're just giving you know

you're just giving a bunch of different

examples of how to use this and I think

that's one of the cool things about this

like what happens usually is somebody

requests like a sample kit from us don't

get and once they see it they're like oh

like that's when their mind's blown

they're like wow these aren't printed

these are actually pen written and then

they call us with like then that's when

their ideas go off they're like hey this

is how I want to use it you know and

then they'll call us and say hey can you

help us with that follow-up after a bad

experience or hey can you help us with a

follow-up ask for a review or hey can

you help us with reach out to our

clients and ask for a referral you know

so that's what you know what you're just

saying I think you just really explained

this type of product perfectly there's

just a handwritten note can be used in

so many different ways it's really just

how can it best serve you and that's

what we do is we help you do that

definitely definitely makes all the

difference in the world uh so people can

buy uh different credit packs on your

website so they can buy in different

bulk sizes to help scale to how many

they want uh anywhere from let's see one

to uh price points break out at

different places on the scale but you

can send anywhere from one note to 5000

plus notes uh that you guys can handle

um you know our largest orders have been

in the hundreds of thousands um you know

anybody can go to our website and just

send one you know

um so it's really it's a tool that

anybody can use you know what happens

most often is that you know somebody

will go to our website and just send one

and kind of test this out and then yeah

they'll wait for somebody to what

happens is that person that they send it

to will text message thanking them for

the car to call them like yeah I got

your card thanks and they're like oh my

gosh like actually I didn't send that

like I use this service and then they

get really excited but yeah anybody can

use it it doesn't matter if you send one

or a hundred thousand or five it doesn't

matter

um we're really trying to be a platform

just just to help

everybody

um you know send uh you know they're you

know send real Henry notes for their

relationships

there you go and does it uh does it does

the card that goes out the envelope

itself does that look handwritten as

well

it's all handwritten or it's all pen

written so the envelope's pen written

the card submit pen written uh it's all

personalized so high like first name

[ __ ] person real Forever stamp

there's no logos no branding of ours

whatsoever

um you know if we're if we're doing our

job which we try to do it really well

um the person will never know that you

use a service

that is awesome that is freaking awesome

I think it's cool and people can request

a sample off your site if they want to

see what it looks like in person they

can go ahead and fill out their uh data

there and uh get a chance to find out

more about the service see it in action

but I love the idea like I said I mean

you saw the example I I showed you

before I got a whole pile somewhere uh

in fact like birthday cards that used to

be I throw away birthday cards I'm like

yeah birthday you know Christmas stuff

like that but now it's so rare to get

something to say someone actually filled

it in uh where you're just like are just

like wow that's that's really personal

that's from that person

um you know it's not something they just

hit print and sent you know some things

that you've said uh during this call you

know like what you just did like you you

know went behind your your green screen

there and grabbed a handwritten note

that's still sitting on the desk like

what other form of marketing material or

sales material is going to get that type

of shelf life where it literally sits on

your desk like are you gonna sit there

and screenshot that thank you email that

you know is automated print it out and

put it on your desk no you're not you

know are you gonna screenshot that text

you know that that pointless text

message that we know is automated no

you're not yeah so

um you know the shelf life alone is just

incredible you know he said people save

these for weeks months sometimes years

you know you know they're very

sentimental and um like you said earlier

like a 300 engagement rate print mail

has a 32 open rate so you might as well

just take seven out of every ten dollars

if you do a print campaign and just

throw it in the mail like it just

doesn't work so

um there's just I mean I'm obviously

really excited about it you know I

believe I believe in this more than ever

and I've been doing this for almost five

years

um it's just so different it's just

something and it's not the only thing

anybody should be doing it's just

another tool in the belt I just think

you know every business has

relationships and you should reach out

to them at least once a year and thank

them um you know without them you

wouldn't have a business

that's true that's true and and that

Personal Touch makes all the difference

in the world uh you know I wrote in my

book I talked about how after 13 years

of of setting up my original company's

original clients uh for one of our

companies Silver Streak Express

um I done all the personal work I'd done

all the personal selling and the

personal communication for the first few

years until I moved to our mortgage

company and left it with our partner but

my partner after 13 years left and what

was interesting was I called those uh I

called all my original clients up and

they still remember me they still loved

me they still connected with me they

were so happy to do business with us

um and uh it made all the difference

having that Personal Touch uh you guys

work before the NCAA Marriott Fairway

Edward Jones Ronald McDonald House

Charities Keller Williams Tesla

um it looks like you guys can uh even

print the uh is the stationary

letterhead sort of if you will the

emblem logo for uh whoever the company

is too as well yeah we're completely

vertically integrated

um in the in our warehouse what that

means everything from start to finish is

done here in house we're not leveraging

any outside you know corporate printers

like that's a problem because that's not

efficient it's more expensive

um it takes days sometimes weeks to get

your stuff back so you know where other

you know print companies start or finish

that's where we start we have the same

you know 160 thousand dollar uh printing

press in our warehouse you know the

orders come from online to offline so if

you put your order in online it

literally gets sent right to a printing

press printing this you know prints it

we then cut it and score it then once we

you know get done with that we run it

through our handwriting robots once

they're done with our handwriting robots

we hand quality control it make sure it

looks great once it's done with their

person hand stuffs it seals it puts a

real Forever stamp on it and it gets

done so we really try to just be a

One-Stop shop you know for all you know

handwritten type of mailing projects

we're just trying to make it super

simple

there you go and can people like upload

like a bulk sort of mailing sheet so

they can just send you like a giant

spreadsheet of everything and it and put

in your systems yep and that's the power

of our service as long as you have a

spreadsheet you know with names and

addresses in it it's just like mail

merge so like you literally can send 10

000 personalized handwritten notes in

like three minutes like you literally go

to the website select your card take

your mailing list and upload it and

check it out it's like Patty and right

now our current capacities it just

depends our current daily capacity is

between like 10 to 15 000 handwritten

notes a day it just depends on how long

the note is you know what we're writing

you know the size of it you know so

there's a lot of variables that go into

it but um you know crystals and being

able to do a really good job you know

with really good writing quality with

the best technology the fastest

production times

there you go I think I'm Gonna Make a

list of all the enemies and people that

I hate and send it out every Christmas

like we do we're we're right mail it out

to him and I go just a reminder happy

holidays I still hate you and you're

still blocked on Facebook oh

that's not nice don't do that but no I I

love the concept behind the service and

I and like I say I'm proof positive of

the difference it can make in in uh in

you know getting more business from

people and we had a author on recently

who talked about the power of getting

referrals and the difference in in how

much that really makes

um to your business and getting those

referrals you know they're just they're

like gold when your client refers

something to you and seeing the card

come across you know usually when I see

the handwritten cards I'm like oh I

better open this this is personal there

might be a hundred bucks in there or

something like uh for my aunt

you know you've got that whatever we

touched on on the business and and how

it works that we may haven't touched on

so far

we've done a pretty good job covering

the the backstory you know the the

technology the handwriting robot you

know really how we try to help people is

either integrate into your CRM or

software payment platform and automate

it or just scale it based off a simple

spreadsheet

um I think a lot of people kind of jump

into like the analysis paralysis and try

to overthink it you know it's really

just

as long as you have a spreadsheet it's

super simple if you have a spreadsheet

with names and addresses like this can

be the easiest relationship building

tool that you'll ever use the most

impactful

integrates with Shopify Salesforce Zoho

MailChimp Hub a spot zapier and other

apis so you can just plug it in and

start pumping all these out to The

Postal Service and uh there you go I

mean it's it's something that is unique

and people don't see anymore I think

that's what makes it so special is is is

that doing that well this has been

really insightful it's been great to

have you on the show and talk about some

of the crew any uh partying advice or

thoughts before we go

I mean like I said earlier if you are a

a person who's thinking about becoming

an entrepreneur if you can do it I

recommend doing it the personal growth

that you'll get from it is unlike any

other professional thing you ever do in

your life and then also

um you know my backgrounds in sales and

marketing and as an athlete I've started

a robotics software and Industrial

Automation company so I have zero reason

to be successful in this the only reason

I am successful is because I'm so

passionate about it I have grit through

the roof my heart is on fire about it I

want it to be successful you know and

I'm making it work so if you have an

idea that you think is you know your

comfort zone you just got to take one

step at a time if you take one step at a

time you'll solve one problem at a time

and you know two three years down the

road you're gonna solve a lot of

problems you're going to be shocked at

the growth and how far you've come there

you go and I even noticed uh here on

your website I was flipping around the

website you can uh maybe include like

gift cards like Starbucks around Amazon

absolutely business cards inserts Flyers

whatever yep oh so you can put my

business card in there that would be

awesome too as well all right well this

is awesome uh and you've got birthday

integration as well or automation uh

send cards for birthdays and holidays

that's always good to have because I

always forget those uh I forgot

someone's birthday the other day uh so

there you go uh well Rick thank you very

much for coming on showgifster.com your

plugs so that people can find you on the

interwebs yep so it's just

simplynoted.com just how it's spelled s

as in Sam i m s Mary ply noted.com

highly suggest just go there top right

corner it says request a sample we'll

send you a nice sample kit

um we spend about 20 on this kit so I

mean we're investing a lot of money to

make sure you guys get all the

information uh that you need so we can

educate it educate you on the service

um and that's completely free no strings

attached and then if you want to connect

on LinkedIn please do

um I'm very active on there and I'm

happy to connect

um with you and talk to you or help you

out or answer any questions

there you go hey it's been wonderful

here on the show Rick thanks for coming

on thanks Chris appreciate it there you

go and thanks so much for tuning in go

to goodreads.com for chess Chris Foss go

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in be good to each other stay safe and

we'll see you guys next time