Plan Early and Beat the Holiday Rush

This year I will plan to ship corporate holiday gifts soon. Horror story. Last year I thought there was no hurry and that I would get big deals by waiting until mid December to order gifts for my clients. Client gifts of appreciation for their business is very important and if you fail to send a holiday gift you have botched the customary gift that has come to be expected yearly. Don't forget how important and necessary these thankfulness tokens are. Three years ago I decided to forego the gifts because of a budget crunch. Thinking it made very little or no difference I felt quite smug about the amount of money and time and hassle I would save for this extra frivolous expenditure. Was I ever wrong. In fact many of us were wrong. The other firm people I meet with weekly all talked it over and were in agreement that one year couldn't make that much difference and we were quite smug about our money saving tactics. In my business my principal competitor is someone who has tried to get my clients but I've always won their trust. Unfortunately for me he made the decision to take the risk and send out gifts early. The next year I found I was losing some of my clients because they had decided to take a look at other corporations that could deliver the same or equivalent service. As we approached new individuals many of them had already signed up with the rival and my laid back and risk-free style that I would easily keep clients was slipping away. I had to work really hard to keep the clients I had and put in a lot of time and effort for the next few years to get some of my essential companies loyalties back. Maybe it wasn't just the holiday present, but the next year I took note. Listening and asking questions of friends and relatives about what made them devoted and things that made a difference I noted that follow up letters of thanks,cell phone calls, and gifts aren't just tokens they are are reminders and stamps of confidence for the clients. So two years ago I made sure I had money for gifts at holiday time planned. I started looking for gift ideas and sent them out the first of December. What I noticed was that I immediately got cards and calls from clients. They loved them plus mine were the first gifts to arrive at their office. My secretary and I were talking and she pointed out the gift we got at Thanksgiving one year with the note that here's your first holiday gift to take pleasure in. Since it was the first and only gift at that time it did make a big difference. Most gifts of food, gifts baskets, and cards come that last week before December 25 and although we appreciate them they sometimes get tossed in and mixed up and we can't remember exactly who gave what. Besides workers are bringing in treats and food for each other all week. So my secretary and I started talking and analyzing that the first gifts that come in are the most observed and appreciated and you generally remember them. That brings me to our strategy for this year. We have already contacted a basket business to send out holiday gift baskets to be delivered no later than December l. Why? Because last year we thought we'd order them later and they were sold out of the one we really wanted. Since we have clients in 10 states we had failed to note that many would not arrive on time because of shipping days needed. We gave up after checking about sending flower arrangements or poinsettias which seemed useless for a few days in the office. As a last resort we scrambled to get gift cards for local restaurants or bakeries near each client. It took way too much time. We were able to find some gift cards in grocery store, but they were not the right denomination. We also felt uneasy that the exact amount we were spending was totally obvious, putting a dollar value on the client. But we got the cards sent out. It was fine and at least we sent a gift. However one of the more vocal and boldly honest secretaries called to thank us and did say she preferred the gift baskets because she was the one who had to order and go to the restaurant to bring back what was ordered with the gift card. She also made it clear that to feed everyone they had to add more money. Yikes, not a good plan. This year I called Baskets by Rita the first of October and placed my order for Thankfull Gift Baskets and Colorado gift baskets to be delivered just before Thanksgiving so they will arrive that first week of December. They explained to me that they have to order all holiday products in August and September to have enough stock to not run out additionally suppliers run out early. We're feeling really smug. Our clients will know these are gifts of appreciation, there are food items to be shared by all, they come packaged stunningly giving that WOW factor and our card and gift will be the first one they get and will be hanging around the break room all holiday season. It won't get lost with all the other gifts. Since there is not a dollar amount attached you are not blatantly telling them what money amount they are worth. Plus my secretary is so happy because this is a slower time for us and she was able to make all plans in a more relaxed way. We came across another money-saving hint for giving holiday gifts. We will have baskets shipped to 9 other states, but the majority are in the Denver area. My secretary has arranged to save some of the shipping and delivery costs by going to pick up most of the baskets and deliver many herself. We've added a wine and cheese FAC the first Saturday in December in our office for clients and we'll give most of them out then. If not, it would be good for me to take them and give them myself and make the personal call. The morale of the story is do not underestimate the power of the holiday thankfulness gift and order early.

A Token of Appreciation

 It is tough to acquire unusual and sincere and special ways of saying thank you to someone you value or endorse. To pay tribute to their abilities and work by commending them for support. You want them to know of your appreciation what they have done for you or for others or for the company. To recognize that is the first step. To let the person realize you sincerely and truly appreciate them and acknowledge them is very important. Giving thanks is not just for Thanksgiving anymore. You must offer and endorse the behaviors you want to see continue. So the first stage is to be aware of showing appreciation and acknowledging it. That does not mean going overboard all the time and having to give lots of gifts or money for every little thing. Studies have found that people respond to acknowledgements of even the tiniest kind such as a nod or look of endorsement or an real pat on the back. Even a smile and a look of facial gratitute can be ways of endorsing self esteem and showing you want and recognize what has been done or said. These words of appreciation and commendation show tribute to the person and show that you value them. Saying thank you works. Now if you overdo it for every little thing it thanks and appreciation lose their value. It has to fit your personal way and must be genuine. Sincere gratitude and the word here is sincere is enormous. For a business praise of any kind is good but eventually and periodically you need to put your money where your mouth is and hand something as appreciation of services and recognition of gratitute. That token of appreciation could be money such as a raise or cash with a thank you note. And you have to mix it up a little bit too. If you know the person shops at a certain store or enjoys a particular coffee house or restaurant you could give gift certificates. They are always appreciated. This works if you also do not want to make a big deal or applaud out loud for everyone to see or hear. Sometimes you do and you want others to step up so they too will get those monetary awards. So the looks, the thank you words, the notes and the infrequent gift cards work. If you feel you want something with more of a wow factor then consider an genuine gift that wows. The problem with money or gift cards is that they are definitely appreciated but have an exact value and the amount given one employee can be perceived by others as a rating scale by what they get. My business has small gift cards that are consistent for certain things then we started going to get plaques engraved and people displayed them for a while but are now gone and seem to be old hat to everyone. The secretaries said it is taking too much effort to go out and shop for these prizes and that employees compare how much we spend on one compared to another. One of our secretaries found an Aurora based gift basket company that she now calls and has a gift basket or pail made up and delivered to us. It is so easy. Sometimes she just orders one of the baskets online from Baskets by Rita and tells them what to put on the card. More often recently she has been writing a note on the order or even calling and asking that the basket be original. She just gives the price we want to pay and they put together a different gift basket crate box or pail every time. That way employees have no idea what amount we spent and theirs is unique. It is awesome way to say, "Thank You!- A Thank You Gift Basket." http://www.basketsbyrita.com