 Christmas is fast approaching, which for you could mean trying to find the perfect gift for that important client or prospect. We're going to go through a few tips that you can use to analyze if your gift to your client or prospect is going to make an impact. Welcome to The Pantry. If your organization practices handing out client gifts at Christmas time, you know how much time is involved in trying to find the gifts, ordering them, packaging them up, delivering them with a handwritten card. It's a very time consuming process and can also be quite costly. So we're going to look at ways below to not only save on your time but also increase the impact of your client gift and hopefully save you some money along the way. Tip number one, don't send a gift just to send a gift. And perhaps it's something you've done year over year and it becomes an automatic practice for you to send out gifts to clients. But if you're not receiving ROI on those gifts, perhaps it's not the best way of connecting and furthering the relationship with your clients. Some clients, in fact, their corporations won't allow them to accept gifts over a certain dollar amount. So instead of putting them in an uncomfortable position of having to decline the gift you're sending, maybe find other ways to connect and further the relationship with that particular client. Tip number two, it doesn't have to be a tangible gift. Sometimes a well-written card can go miles in furthering the relationship with that client and prospect and you are saving on the cost of buying a tangible gift that potentially that client may not be able to use or again may not even be able to accept. Tip number three, set a budget. It can be an expensive time of year, especially if you're buying multiple gifts. So ensure you have a budget in mind for your client. You may even have clients in different budget categories depending on the volume of business they do with your organization. Don't forget to budget in wrapping, a card if it's going to accompany the gift, and of course delivery of the gift itself. Tip number four, send them a client survey to find out what it is they truly like. Hopefully you've done that before this video today and you already have a good sense of what your client likes and dislikes. But if you don't, it could be a good time to send them a quick survey to see what it is that really speaks to them. In that survey you can ask some personal questions, but it's mostly about their likes, their passions, perhaps things they like to eat, things they like to drink, activities they like to enjoy, and then you can really tailor the gift pending their passions and likes. Tip number five, please reevaluate the cookie drive. The cookie drive was a very, very successful client gifting blitz done a few years back. The unfortunate thing about the cookie drive though is a lot of the recipients may not again be able to accept cookies or other sweet things that you are delivering. So be cognizant of people's diet aversions, diet allergies, or even just diets in general. I may not be allergic to cookies in any way, shape, or form, but this time of year can be dangerous for my waistline. So I'm trying to curb back on the cookies. However, if you brought me a candied apple or a banana or fruit basket, that might be something that your client could be able to enjoy a little bit more. Tip number six, your time versus your gift. Sometimes, believe it or not, they actually just want to spend time with you. It could be over a cup of coffee, maybe a pumpkin spice latte somewhere, a glass of wine at the end of the work day, or even a breakfast meeting if that's going to be the best use of your time in your schedule. But sometimes they just actually want to see you and that will further the relationship a lot more than potentially a gift or a card. Tip number seven, send Christmas cards. A lot of clients and prospects still love receiving cards in the mail. It is different than the email cards that we tend to receive nowadays, but a handwritten card in the mail is still one of those things that touches people's hearts. So don't abandon the practice altogether. You might look at different ways of delivering those cards or writing those cards out, but sending handwritten cards is still a great way to connect with clients and prospects. Tip number eight, make the gift fun. You do want your gift to stand out as something memorable and fun as compared to all the other client gifts they've received. So give something that's going to make you stand out in the new year when business opportunities come around. I do have more ideas for fun client gifts on my Pinterest page and you can find my Pinterest page link below this video. Go over there, take a look at some of the fun and funky gifts and see if there's something that would resonate with your clients. Tip number nine, make it personal. And of course this goes without saying even when you receive a gift, you know what it feels like for it to be personal and really speak to you. Again, finding out what your client likes and dislikes and putting a little spin on that gift to make it personal to them would be something they won't soon forget. So try your best to make it personal to them. Over the years, I've given and received gifts that have made a larger impact over others. So I want to share you some of the top gifts that I feel would be great for corporate gifting. Number one, gift cards. Now the potential of gift cards becoming passé is creeping up really quickly, but a well thought out gift card, especially if it speaks to something they're passionate about, is still very well much received. So gift cards also cuts down on a lot of shipping and delivery costs. So perhaps sending a gift card is a great way of you to acknowledge your client. Idea number two are food options, especially if those options are local to your community or perhaps local to their community. There's a great farm to table movement and if you're able to incorporate that into your Christmas gift, it could be very well received. Idea number three are books. I love to receive books. And again, if you find a book that really speaks to your client, it's going to be very well received because it's very personal to them. Using online bookstores, you can also get free shipping if you order books beyond a certain dollar amount. So look into that option to also save on some delivery charges as well. Idea number four, donations to charities. And again, finding a charity that speaks to the client, perhaps something that's very personal to them or their family, making a donation on their behalf is a great way of celebrating the season. As I mentioned before, it's not just the gift that can break your budget, but also factoring in the gift wrapping and delivery costs. Don't forget, there are some online stores that will offer free gift wrapping and free shipping if you purchase a gift over a certain amount. You can also look at local delivery options. If you're getting something from a local store, they can often provide free shipping if it's a local delivery. And of course, in-person delivery. So if you have time in your schedule to go and personally deliver a gift over to a client, that will also save you on delivery charges. Again, just a note, make sure that your client is available to receive your gift and you're not surprising them in potentially the middle of an important project that they're working on. Remember, Christmas is a time of sharing and a time of joy. Don't make corporate gifting a stressful activity in your day. Make it enjoyable. Make sure that it speaks to your client and you're seeing some ROI on that gift in the new year or the years to come. For more ways of interacting and strengthening client relationships, check out my blog at productivitypantry.com. I send out blog posts once a week on hotel sales and management tips. You can also subscribe to my newsletter there and then you'll never miss one of my posts. Thank you for joining me today and happy holidays. Bye for now.