Sales Prospecting Gifts

If you’re looking to improve your prospecting efforts, it sometimes helps to remember the old adage “It is better to give than to receive.” In this case, giving an excellent sales prospecting gift can help you receive more leads and business. What is a sales prospecting gift, exactly? It’s an item, ideally personally selected, that is given to individual prospects during the sales prospecting process. Even a small, thoughtful gift can help open doors, make genuine connections, and get conversations started with your potential buyers, making them more inclined to buy with you when the time is right.

Just how important can a sales prospecting gift be? Research suggests that 72% of companies with less than 50 new opportunities per month didn’t achieve their revenue goals, compared to 15% with 51 to 100 new opportunities, and just 4% for companies with 101 to 200 new opportunities, according to data from Hubspot.

So now that you know the stakes, it’s important to recognize that the methods you use in the process—including the use of digital or direct mail gifts—can greatly influence your outcomes.

Prospecting Methods and Practices

There are two ways of making contact with prospects for inbound and outbound prospecting.

• The inbound prospecting methodology works by getting clients to come to you, either by means of advertising or by offering online or social media content that is relevant and desirable to the prospect.
• Outbound prospecting works by reaching out to potential clients who (informed by good research) might have an interest in your product or service.

In both methods, incorporating gifts as part of your prospecting efforts can increase the overall effectiveness of your campaigns. This is due to the strong psychological and social impacts of receiving a gift, even when the gift is tied to a desired outcome. The way you use sales prospecting gifts depends in part upon what method you’re using.

Inbound Prospecting

The inbound prospecting methodology works by getting clients to come to you, either by means of advertising or by offering online or social media content that is relevant and desirable to the prospect.

Outbound Prospecting

Outbound prospecting works by reaching out to potential clients who (informed by good research) might have an interest in your product or service.

In both methods, incorporating gifts as part of your prospecting efforts can increase the overall effectiveness of your campaigns. This is due to the strong psychological and social impacts of receiving a gift, even when the gift is tied to a desired outcome. The way you use sales prospecting gifts depends in part upon what method you’re using.

Gifting for Inbound vs. Outbound Prospecting

Inbound Prospecting

In terms of implementation, inbound marketing can make excellent use of gifting, and do so through automation that makes the process seamless. In these instances, a prospect finds your product or service via research and comes at the top of the funnel seeking information. Through the use of a sending platform, prospects that enter in this manner can trigger an automatic send. This could be a simple, digital gift such as a coffee eCard delivered along with a piece of digital content, or even a $10 lunch gift card delivered along with a physical information packet (you can invite your recipient to treat them as a “lunch and learn”!) Even these small gestures go a long way to establishing an extra connection when sending digital or printed content.

Outbound Prospecting

For outbound prospecting, gifting is used to strengthen the initial connection with a potential client, such as phone conversation, email reply, or a discovery call set or completed. For instance, a small eGift card can serve as an incentive to reply to an offer, driving response numbers and in turn improving conversion rates.

Gifts can also be sent as a follow-up to a successful connection. This method of gifting keeps you top-of-mind with the prospect, and illustrates how someone can expect to be treated as a future client.

The key to success here: The two main forms of outbound prospecting, cold-calling and emailing, are on the rise; prospects are increasingly aware and fatigued on these tactics. However, sending a small, well-personalized gift off Amazon invites your prospect to see themselves as a valued contact, rather than just a name in a list. This cuts through all the noise and inbox clutter to make a genuine connection.

Learn how to create a direct mail campaign from start to finish here.

Why Use Sales Prospecting Gifts?

The average gift budget for sales-driven corporate gifts is $75–100, according to Promotional Products Association International (PPAI). Many B2B sales teams leverage account-based marketing (ABM) rather than depending on inbound sales campaigns.

This shift allows you to send a personalized gift via direct mail or email that’s both thoughtful and valuable. It might just make your prospect’s day.

There are four types of businesspeople you might encounter during your outreach journey. The types of gifts that they prefer vary wildly.

• Pioneers – These adventurous and energetic people will love an out-of-the-box idea, such as experience-based vouchers or concert tickets.
• Guardians – These people are practical and reserved in nature. Shop for gifts that allow them to relax, such as a coffee shop gift card or noise-canceling headphones.
• Drivers – These leaders have logical personalities. Get them a challenge-based game or a cool gadget and ask about it on your next phone call.
• Integrators – These team members are empathetic and relationship-oriented. Delight them with a themed box of goodies or a donation on their behalf.

This approach to business gifts is a win-win.

Let’s talk a bit about what kinds of gifts you should send to a prospect. The following gift ideas you can use in your outbound sales strategy.

Sales Gifts to Connect with Prospects

Prospecting isn’t a numbers game — it’s about the ability to make a genuine connection and build rapport, and establish a long-term relationship.

1) Tap Into a Prospect’s Personal Interests

Understanding your prospect’s persona during the prospecting phase is the first step when creating a personal experience for a potential customer.

Use whenever possible. Is the prospect into waffles and Star Wars? A glance at their public social media posts could tell you a lot.

Now, what if someone doesn‘t share a lot on social media platforms? That‘s okay.

Consider the feeling of receiving a unique gift box or digital gift. It’ll grab their attention and spark some excitement around the new relationship.

Sendoso has thousands of business gift ideas that sales reps use to earn prospects’ attention.

2) Involve Company Mascots

Not every company will have a mascot, but it never hurts to check their site to see if their brand is represented by a friendly animal — think Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes or Aflac insurance.

The World Wildlife Fund has an “adopt” program where you can give the gift of adopting the animal your target account has representing their company across the website and marketing materials.

Rather than sending physical gifts like tumblers, you can nominate a charity to donate to on one‘s behalf.

To ensure your corporate gift resonates with a prospect, include a handwritten note, and you’re golden.

3) Leverage Location-Specific Gifts

Details matter. Recognizing the physical locations of your prospects shows that you’ve done your homework.

Here are some thoughtful gifts focused on geography:

• Hometown or spot that brings them joy
• Current city or major metropolitan area located nearby
• A map or satellite view of their favorite vacation spot
• Custom gifts bearing national pride or patriotism

So go check out the geo-location on your prospect’s LinkedIn and Twitter profiles and perform plenty of Google searches, then match which corporate gifts resonate.

4) Create a Hometown Hero

Doing good is the heart of a sustainable gifting program. Even in the sales process, you can spread goodwill by donating to local causes that render a greater impact.

Knowing more about your prospect, you can suggest a few organizations to send as a gift.

Here are a few charitable e-gifts salespeople should try:

• Local children’s hospitals and non-profits
• Global gifting efforts like supporting Ukraine
• Adjacent charities relevant to your prospect’s industry

We‘ve helped marketing and sales teams give over $625,000 back to charity. Imagine having fewer wasted gifts and making the world a better place. It’s possible with Sendoso.

5) Fuel Lifelong Learning

Instead of cold calling, consider reaching out to a decision-maker by suggesting an insightful book for your outreach.

Author and comedian Garrison Keillor once said, “A book is a gift you can open again and again.”

We have thousands of popular books in the Sendoso marketplace that appeal to your prospect’s interests. These reads strengthen personal and professional interests.

Even if you’re not sure what kind of books your prospect reads, there are gift ideas for every reader — even coffee table books.

Gift Choice & Personalization

Finding a Connection

Once you’ve made contact with a potential customer or client, it’s time to start thinking about your send. While it’s prudent to establish a budget and some parameters beforehand, what you send will largely depend on the type of contact you made, and the value of the account you’re trying to establish or strengthen.

For this, you’ll need to start doing some digging about your individual recipient. What do they like, what do they do with their free time? Look for hints in social media that will guide your selections. Social media platforms can be helpful here:

• LinkedIn: Great for finding alma mater, professional interests, or organizations they belong to.
• Instagram: To make connections like travel destinations, sports, pets, or family.
• Twitter: For information about their life and general interests.
• Google Search: Great for finding publications and appearances they’ve made or participated in, such as online articles, conferences, keynotes, etc.
• Mutual Connections: Many platforms tell you if you have mutual connections, which are great for breaking the ice.

The Power of Personalization

Personalization can make a significant difference in the reception of your gift, and the return on your investments. Research shows that the best sales prospecting gift is a personalized one. Targeting customers on a one-to-one basis increases response rates by up to 50% or more. What’s more, 96% of digital marketers say personalization advances customer relationships.

There are many ways to personalize the experience for your recipient:

• Alma mater: Does your prospect show school spirit? Team colors show you care.
• Team sports: Fan of football, rugby? Send something to help them cheer for their team.
• Pets: Is their dog in every Insta post? Make a good impression by remembering a best friend.
• Hobbies: Scuba or sewing, riding or writing, make a special effort with special interests.
• Geography: Help them show off their hometown pride with a locally-focused gift.
• Milestones: New family members, marriage, career achievements, or a new house offer ways to make a personal connection.
• Job Role: Have the recently made moves in their career? Send them a small desk item to celebrate.
• Career Field: Do they know everything about their industry or niche? Send them something personalized to their specialty.
• Thought Leadership: Do they lead the discussions in an industry topic? Include an item that acknowledges their expertise.
• Company: Is there big news at their company, such as launch, patent, funding round, or acquisition? Help them celebrate the team’s success.

Personalized Gift Ideas

Sales Prospecting Gifts

Once you’ve found a personal connection with your prospect, personalizing a gift doesn’t have to be difficult.

• For the sports fan, a jersey or a tumbler make a great, practical gift. For the “big fish” accounts, you might even consider tickets to a game.
• Pet fans will appreciate fun, branded gifts like tug toys, catnip, gourmet treats, or personalized leash and collar sets.
• Travel vibes and local flavors are easy to celebrate with items like coffee table books, local gourmet treats, personalized luggage tags, or even branded power converters for the international jet-setter.
• For milestones like babies and houses, a personalized blanket, housewarming gift, or item of clothing makes a great impression.

With any personalized gift, it’s great to further make the connection with a handwritten note, personally addressing your recipient and a salient detail from the conversation or meeting. This lets the prospect know that you were present in the conversation, and can further strengthen a powerful gesture.

Cold Calling Gifts

While cold-calling gifts become a little trickier, there are certainly ways to present a gift of appreciation to a recipient as part of a cold-calling campaign, such as:

• eGift Cards for a coffee or a treat.
• A donation to a cause or charity made on the recipient’s behalf.
• An Amazon gift card as a thank you for setting a meeting.
• A code for a swag store that allows them to select a small, branded gift.
• A personalized, handwritten note thanking them for their time.

Definitely aim for a cost-effective gift that still makes a splash, as the ROI on a gift in the cold-calling stage may be lower than one where a warm connection is established.

Risks of Being Too Creative with Prospect Gifts

Of course, with any gift-giving, there is a risk of overdoing it and making your direct mail seem insincere or offensive.

Givers beware of these four potential pitfalls when trying to be too creative with your gift-giving:

• The gift is too expensive and screams, “I’m trying to buy your business!”
• It is too personal and invades the recipient’s personal or family spaces
• Comes across as tone-deaf regarding serious topics and interests
• It’s annoying and ends up in the landfill

As long as your outbound sales efforts have purpose and remain thoughtful of your prospect’s personal interests, you’re on the right track!

Conclusion

No matter what part of the sales prospecting journey you’re on with a potential customer, or what method you’re using to prospect, the inclusion of a gift in the process can make a great impression that drives response and creates lifetime customers.

If you’d like to learn how easy the process can be, speak with a sending specialist today and learn more during a demo of the Sendoso Sending Platform.