Have you ever received a gift of food or candy? If so, chances are you appreciated and enjoyed it. Similarly, if you or your salespeople are challenged with the task of getting through to prospects, courting them with quality food or candy is certain to yield warm feelings. Not only will you get thank-you calls and e-mails – giving you the opportunity for more dialogue – but you stand a solid shot at making an appointment. 

You don’t have to spend a fortune. In addition to conventional containers (jars, wooden boxes, etc.) there are countless reasonably-priced novelty-shaped dispensers available, from mailboxes and pill bottles to slot machines and banks. They can be filled with a choice of treats, such as mints, nuts, chocolates or jelly beans.

Get more mileage with refills. Aren’t you glad when a restaurant provides free beverage refills? Whether your sales force drops in every quarter with a bag of nuts or you ship off a package several times a year, supplying prospects with refills is certain to result in additional communication. 

Include a card. Don’t expect the imprint on the container to speak for itself. A card will support your message. For example, along with a light bulb-shaped jar filled with yellow jelly beans you can send a note saying that you’ve got lots of bright ideas you’d like to share – in person. In a mailbox-shaped tin filled with wrapped chocolates, insert a card stating you’d rather not send mail that could get lost in the shuffle, and that you’d like to get together to talk about your newest service.

Courting prospects can be fun – especially if you cleverly incorporate promotional products into your communications. Let us know if you’d like to brainstorm ways to turn prospects into clients using the kinds of gifts we’ve described. Just give us a call at 888.356.7657 or send us an e-mail!

Best Regards,

Dale Shetterly