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 getting through to prospects, courting them with food or candy is certain to yield good will. 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 additional 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 that says 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 that says you’d rather not send mail that could get lost in the shuffle, 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 me know if you’d like to brainstorm ways to turn prospects into clients using the kinds of gifts I’ve described.

We hope you find this concept of interest. If you’d like to do some brainstorming along these lines, either in person or over the phone, give us a call at 708-478-8222 or send us an email.

Your promotional solutions marketing partners,