You tend to judge yourself by your intentions while
your client judges you by how your actions make them feel!

 

- In relation to gifting, the key question becomes how does  receiving your gift make your client or customer feel?

 

"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel"

~ Maya Angelou

Do you want to ...

• Influence people - increase probability of them agreeing to
  meet you?

• Attract more clients or customers?

• Retain your clients or customers and nurture longer lasting loyalty?

• Attract even more referrals?

 

Gifts might be a powerful way to do so - BUT, unless you know how to avoid the 3 biggest mistakes, you might be wasting your time, effort and money!

John Ruhlin, author of 'Giftology: The Art and Science of Using

Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and

Strengthen Retention', claims 99% of all financial advisor gifts 

break the #1 most important rule of gift giving.

 

Business gifting strategies MUST include 2 ingredients to be effective

• Ingredient #1. SURPRISE - Anything predictable, disqualifies

  • Normal gifting time has very LOW surprise potential

  • Exception: an astonishing gift, that in and of itself is surprise - Knowing the recipient's favourite sports hero or team, and then arranging an autographed sports memorabilia item or tickets to box seats for the next game, etc, would indeed qualify as a true surprise, even if the timing is not surprising 

• Ingredient #2. DELIGHT - The recipient must truly LIGHT up with astonishment as the gift is opened. Typical gifts such as flowers, chocolates, wine, etc, is unlikely to trigger a delight response

 

When a gift lacks ONE of these, it is deemed to NOT be an effective strategy for a business to build relationships. In contrast, when a gift has BOTH of these ingredients it is an extremely successful business relationship strategy. 

Token - Definition: Things or actions which are small or unimportant, but are meant to show intentions which

may not be sincere!

​

Consider the word ‘token’ as a swear word

- Would you describe your relationship as a 'token' relationship?

So why would you ever say that about a gift?

When gifting occurs during holiday season, it gets lost in the noise

• Everyone gives gifts during the holiday season

• This is NOT a way to stand out from the crowd

• Avoid giving gifts after American Thanksgiving through to the December holiday season

 

It might seem weird - investing money in gifts, has greater impact when you do the opposite of what everyone else does - That's how to stand out from the crowd and become even more memorable!

 

Gifting when not expected is a surprise and a delight!

And, clearly not driven by obligation ...

Imagine giving a wedding gift engraved with your brand

In business, it might be considered smart marketing

- But, clearly, it's no longer a true gift

​

A true gift is focused on honouring the recipient - in contrast, a promotional item is brand-focused.

 

Attempting to blend both does neither effectively - if you feel compelled to engrave a name, it should be the recipient's name, not your logo or brand

 

Better yet, an artfully crafted expression on a gift may become a conversation starter for years to come.

In a competitive world, giving thoughtful and timely gifts is an easy way to be heard above the status quo noise. Investing in gift giving is one way you can stand out from the crowd and become even more memorable.

 

It is a sure fire way to attract more clients or customers, generate even more referrals and nurture longer lasting loyalty.

Just remember to avoid the 3 mistakes that KILL the impact of your gift

When you do, here are a few game changers ...

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Don't do the status quo - Remember to stand out from the crowd!

When everyone else is leaning toward apps or digital, sending an email or a text, ensures you get lost or drowned out by the noise of the crowd.

 

Now imagine a spectacular package arriving in the mail, with a warm and friendly letter, personalized to the recipient ...

- This ensures you cut through the noise; and, stand out from the crowd!

​

When you blow somebody’s mind with a personalized 'WOW' gift, they tend to respond to your Snapchat, text message or phone call!

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Check out Break-Through Impacts 60 second 'WOW' Gifting Program