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Written by Bill Lee
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Saturday, 23 September 2006 |
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Word Count: 962 How Big Do Customer Gifts Have to Be to Be Effective?
One of the exercises I enjoy most when presenting a sales program is asking
the audience to tell me what is standing between them and turning their number
one prospect into a customer.
The answers vary widely, but one that I can almost always count on is, ”I
can’t compete with the premium programs a particular competitor offers.”
Or, “My main competitor gives customers in my market coupons for a dinner for
two at a local restaurant.”
Or, “My competitor’s incentive travel programs are killing me.”
I especially enjoy discussing these kinds of selling obstacles because several
years ago I headed up my company’s incentive travel division, so it’s an
area I’ve had some experience with, on both sides of the table. Plus I have
some strong feelings about the power of relatively small customer gifts.
Incentive travel comes and goes in most industries, as do catalog offers, rebate
programs, etc. But as you look around your industry today, I’ll bet you still
see quite a few companies that continue to offer various types of incentives as
an inducement for customers to buy.
I do believe in the value of BIG GIFTS such as incentive travel. They can
frequently be quite effective. But incentive programs such as these are designed
by corporations, not by the salespeople themselves. Innovative salespeople must
come up with their own ways to compete.
But over the past few months, I have become convinced that relatively SMALL, but
thoughtful customer GIFTS can also carry a powerful punch. I’m referring to a
gift that creates a memory, making the recipient think positive thoughts about
the gift giver -- YOU. YOU, the salesperson, can compete with competitor’s
corporate programs if you are so motivated.
Just last week, an old friend and I traveled to a small town in southeastern
Mexico to work at a children’s home we support. Each day, we walked about a
half-mile from our hotel to the children’s home, passing dozens of small
storefront businesses. One of them -- a small grocery store -- owned and
operated by Emma, a lady whom I would guess to be in her late 60s.
I had met Emma on a trip a month earlier when I randomly chose her store to
purchase some long distance phone cards. She went out of her way to tell me how
much she and the townspeople respected us for the work we did at the home. So
here I am back in Mexico needing more LD phone cards; who would you guess I
bought them from?
After paying Emma for the phone cards, she asked if I would allow her to give me
a small gift. I said, “Yes, I would be honored to accept it.”
In a moment, Emma had retrieved from under her sales counter a small salt shaker
and toothpick holder, both handmade from Mexican pine. As she handed the two
small gifts to me, she said, “When you use these, please think of Emma.” I
walked out of her small store feeling really special.
Small gifts, especially gifts with a degree of uniqueness, given in the spirit
of appreciation can be really powerful.
Emma taught me to show more appreciation to my clients. She made me realize that
it’s not necessary to spend a huge amount of money to make your clients feel
like their something special.
Idea #1: One such gift I have found to be appropriate is a small book:
Leadership 101 by John C. Maxwell. What a powerful little book for managers who
would like to improve their leadership skills. www.amazon.com
Idea #2: Following a seminar presentation or consulting assignment, I always
send my clients a copy of my church cookbook, Let Us Keep the Feast: Food from
the Foothills of South Carolina. It is a hardback cookbook that I know their
family will enjoy. It’s not just any cookbook, it’s MY church cookbook,
which makes it special. www.amazon.com
Idea #3: The little book, The Fred Factor, by Mark Sanborn is another example.
The hero in Sanborn’s book is Fred, Sanborn’s postman. In fewer than one
hundred pages, the author uses Fred to teach any employee no matter how mundane
his or her job may be can -- armed with the right attitude -- make that job
something special. I know my clients will find ideas from this little book that
they can implement in their respective organizations. www.marksanborn.com
Idea #4: Pivot is a book by Dr. Alan Zimmerman that uses many quotes and all
kinds of research to illustrate to the reader how important attitude is to
success. Zimmerman is highly convincing as he makes the point that a positive
attitude is a person’s choice. www.drzimmerman.com
Idea #5: What are your prospects’ hobbies? One of my prospects is practically
obsessed with his Scottish heritage. I ran a Google search on his surname and
turned up all sorts of information on his family name that I shared with him. My
cost: a few minutes of time. My reward: a prospect who became a customer three
weeks later.
Scout out other informative books and inexpensive gifts that you believe
“fit” the personality of the individual customer. Compile your own list.
Control what you can control. Don’t waste time worrying about what you cannot
control. But take action, positive action. The worst response to the marketing
activities of a competitor is no response.
Good selling!
Bill Lee, author of 30 Ways Managers Shoot Themselves in the Foot ($21.95) and
Gross Margin: 26 Factors Affecting Your Bottom Line ($29.95) is a South
Carolina-based business consultant and sales trainer. http://www.BillLeeOnLine.com
800-277-7888
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