There was a book that was recommended to me from another MDRT member from Andy Mayer, who’s in my peer group. It’s a lovely book called, “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse,” and it’s a short book. It’s handwritten illustrations with just a couple of lines on each page. And it’s really about friendship and strengths and believing in yourself and believing in your friends when you’re going through a tough time. So we got a handful of these books, and I sent one out to one of my clients. She’s been a client for about 10 years, and she lost her husband a few years ago and had the odd family complication over recent years and, bless her, she’s now suffering with breast cancer. So she’s had a really tough three or four years, and I knew she’d be in isolation with COVID-19.
So I’d already sent a couple of things to her and spoken to her a couple of times. And I sent this book out to her and a handwritten note. There’s nothing better than a handwritten note to anybody, be it a client or not. She rang me the day that she got the book and, as coincidence would have it, her niece had spoken to her that morning and recommended this book. And she thought, “I’m going to go out and get this book.” And the postman came that day and dropped the book, which I had sent to her, through the letterbox. So she just could not believe the coincidence, and she was crying just from reading the handwritten note. Before she even got to the book, she rang.
And she was just so appreciative of the fact that I’d thought of her and knew what she was going through and that I’d taken the time to send it and taken the time to write a little note to go with it. And that I’d taken 10 minutes out of my day. It had absolutely made her feel so wonderful and so thought about, so I just think the one thing that will stay with me, that resonates with me during this time, is to just take that time to go the extra mile, be it for friends, be it for family, be it for clients, because they really, really do appreciate it.
Sarah Helen Hogan, ACII, is a four-year MDRT member from Leigh, United Kingdom. Hear more in the MDRT Podcast:
Reaching out to a person who is down in the dumps, physically, and more so mentally and emotionally, is a very great act of kindness, Sarah. May God bless you with all things fine in your life.
Really Good gesture. Books are permanent friends. Memory will long last.
Great advice, Sarah–and Andy. Meaningful gifts to any client during these times are a powerful way to deepen our relationship with them. The gift a book that can move them tops the list.