If you’re in sales, then you know that laughter creates a bond. It breaks down the barriers and makes the client more willing to not just listen but also buy. If you give gifts a client laughs at, not because they’re puny, but because they’re funny, you create a stronger bond. It’s hard to buy just the right gift for the special client. Most gifts a client gets are impersonal and bland. You need to be the person whose gifts clients love to receive.
In order to do this, you often have to find out what their interests are. If you give gifts around the client’s interest, they know you went out of your way to select something just right for them. Most good salesmen already include the passions of their clients in the client’s file. A good idea is to add whether the client is jovial, puritanical or likes a good joke. When you do this, you can give more creative gifts from a variety of sources. You open up the world of fun, gag gifts that are practical.
Pricing the gifts a client likes is often difficult. You don’t want to spend too much money, since it is inappropriate, unless they are your prime source of income, then groveling is allowed. You, however, don’t want to look cheap. Whatever you do, stay away from the fruitcake. They often find themselves as doorstops on hot summer days. You can keep the budget within range and still find a great gift when you listen to the client.
Let’s say that your client is a fisherman, gardener, outdoorsman or biker. There are a plethora of gifts from which to select, some mundane, some interesting and some just plain wacky. Find a website that revolves around their interests. If your client is a biker, there is one site that offers reasonably priced gifts. The gifts are funny and yet not really gag gifts since they are very practical items. Many of them do not designate that they’re for motorcycle riders, so you can use them for other options. The site is www.shtuffforbikers.com and it’s filled with clever and humorously packaged useful items. If your client is a biker, but the kind that you pedal not fill with gas, the gifts are also appropriate.
Picture giving your client a bottle of “Old Fart Spray” and watch his reaction. At first his eyes will grow wide as he reads the bottle and begins to laugh. This spray is for achy muscles. If the client is like most people, he’ll really appreciate the quality natural ingredients in the product.
Most of the recipients that love a good laugh will use any excuse to introduce the bottle of “Old Fart Spray” in public. When they do, your name always comes up. Even the most reluctant person to give referrals finds that unwittingly, they give your name out to other potential clients. This method of prospecting is so much better than buying an almost useless list of people. You prospect with gifts a client loves and he’s happy enough with it to mention your name. That’s all you need to do to get in the door of the next prospect and make gifts a client receives work for you on two levels.
