Following Up: Give a Gift (not a marketing tool!)

Thoughtful gifts can be a great way to build relationships with a personal touch. I personally like to gift a book to a contact that I am building a relationship with. However, there are many gifts that you can share with your contacts. However the important thing is to make sure that you give them a thoughtful and personal gift, not just a marketing tool – such as a corporate branded gifts.

Corporate branded gifts are acceptable at hosted events, conferences and student fairs where everyone is receiving the same corporate gift and it is expected. Where it is not acceptable is where you are trying to sell it as a personal gift to a contact.

There are of course some exceptions to this rule. The two key ones are:

• lending something useful and then confirming that they can keep it if useful (e.g. umbrella, pen etc); and
• a product if you know they are a collector / fan of (e.g. if you know they love notebooks and one of your corporate items happens to be a notebook).

The general rule on giving gifts is – give them what they would like to receive and make sure it is a gift that has a meaning for them.

The reality is that a few deep connections with priority contacts are far more beneficial and powerful than many superficial ones. So take the time to get to know them and build your relationship with them. The right gift should reflect this.