Mind Your Ps and Qs

For the longest time, I’ve believed that there were essentially two types of promotional gift. Of course I know that there are actually over a million items, but each one of them can fall into one of two camps – a “please” gift and a “thank you” gift.

They’re very easy to spot. This first item is a “please” gift. By including a telephone number or website, what we’re actually saying to the recipient is PLEASE give us your business – here’s all of my contact information so PLEASE get in touch. Now you can get down on bended knee when you give someone that special stress ball, but I’m not here to tell you how to live your life.

Then we come on to the “thank you” gift. Here the branding is more subtle. It may simply be the company’s logo. Such gifts may be saying THANK YOU for a job well done my trusted employee or THANK YOU for your recent order Mr or Mrs Customer – here is a token of my gratitude. Once again, bended knee is optional.

See? Simple isn’t it. Over one million items broken down in three paragraphs. You’re welcome.

HOLD ON!!!!!

Yeah right, like I can make a succinct point! Surely a thank you is actually a please in disguise isn’t it? Think about it – you’re at a trade show and you hand a visitor a gift because he’s told you a lot about his business and you see an opportunity there. You’re not letting him leave with a 20p pen – you’ve pulled out the big guns on this one. So what are you saying? “Thank you for coming by” with no subtext at all? Don’t be ridiculous. You’re saying “Thank you for coming by and I hope that we can do some business together”. Sure, you didn’t ask for it directly, but does a serious buyer really expect you to just give him gifts out of the goodness of your heart?

It’s no secret that sales are borne out of relationships. Without rapport, you’re probably nowhere. I don’t care what you’re selling or who you’re selling it to – if that customer doesn’t buy into you as a person, you’ve got a serious mountain to climb.

Gifts can break down barriers. They’re a subtle way of asking for the business whilst at the same time making the customer appreciate you and what you can do for them. So perhaps it’s time that we break down the wall between “please” gifts and “thank you” gifts and realise that they’re both doing the exact same job. Showing appreciation yields its own rewards – trust me. Go out there and thank someone for giving you information, for agreeing to meet you, for taking the time to visit your stand at a trade show. If you show them gratitude, you’ll make them feel good, and then guess what happens? They’ll want to do it again. It’s like a drug and it’s easy to get hooked. Keep showing small gestures of appreciation for every little thing and then eventually you’ll be thanking them for a really good order.

A good sales person will always ask for the business, but how much better are they when they already have a sneaking suspicion that the answer is yes?