The gift-giving season visits offices and households alike, and according to a survey from the Promotional Products Association International, more than $2.4 billion will be spent this year on business presents, with most of that being spent during the holidays.
The association offers some tips for gifts to key customers, and the top one is simple enough: Know your audience. Do customers have company policies prohibiting gifts? Do customers share personality traits or interests? One California court reporter service thanked 1,000 lawyers that were clients by directing stuffed dinosaur toys to underprivileged children. Attached to each was a postage-paid thank-you card for the child to send back to the giver.
Companies need to set an objective for the gift -- foster goodwill or keep organization visible -- and don't shrink from the correct presentation, such as jelly beans in a coffee mug. Personalizing gifts with a signed card or note communicates value.
To learn more about local gift distributors, contact the trade group at (972) 258-3044, or visit the association's Web page at www.promotion-clinic.ppa.org.
Promotional Products Association International is a
95-year-old non-profit trade association based in Irving, Texas, that serves 6,500 manufacturers and distributors of promotional products.
Program by Sprint offers sales tactics
All employees need to think of themselves as members of a sales staff, and a good way to do that is to offer sales skills from recognized experts. Sprint Business, the division of Sprint that helps businesses be more productive, has outlined a 10-step program to foster better sales among employees.
Listening to customers, showing empathy to customers, understanding business problems, building trust, exuding confidence and maintaining ethical standards are among the strategies offered by Sprint. A free CD-ROM is available from the communications company for small businesses interested in improving performance in three critical areas: sales, customer satisfaction and employee productivity.
For more information and to receive the CD-ROM, contact Sprint at (888) 435-7424 -- or (888) HELP-4-BIZ -- or go to the Sprint Web page at http://www.sprint.com/sprintbiz.
Business bookshelf
From Diamonds Under Pressure: Five Steps to Turning Adversity into Success by Barry J. Farber (Berkley Books; $13): "We are often afraid of what we think will happen to us in a new situation. These fears are not based on fact, they are based on imagination. And imagination is a powerful force. Used for visualizing a positive outcome, it can give you a tremendous boost . . . but used for hypothesizing negative events, it can stop you from pursuing your dreams."
-- John Eckberg
