Strut Your Stuff: How Self-Promotion Can Help You

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Don't make the mistake of thinking your clients are the only ones who can give gifts, and don't underestimate the ability of those gifts to generate sales!



What better way for you as a distributor to reach out to your clients than with a gift?  Just as their customers appreciate receiving something special, your clients are sure to appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Self-promotion gifts are more than just a way to show appreciation to your clients; they're also a great way to demonstrate the wide variety of gifts that you can provide.  A client who's only purchased traditional promotional products from you, may not realize that you can also assist them with food gifts (or any other type of item). Presenting them with a different type of gift shows them that there are even more options for which they can turn to you.

There's an old adage: samples sell.  They provide your client with a way to engage all their senses and appreciate the quality of the product. Self-promotion gifts are a powerful way to keep your company front and center. Business cards can be easily misplaced, but that photo frame imprinted with your logo will remain.



A North Carolina-based distributor ordered model trucks imprinted with their logo and website address and gave them to 22 of their top clients.  In return, they picked up 7 new orders--a 30% response rate--totaling over $8,000 in sales!  That was just the immediate response!  The right gift can generate orders for years to come.

You can also pair a self-promotion gift with other marketing materials for an even more powerful impact!  A Virginia-based distributor, who had never sold food gifts  before, placed an order for 60 of Maple Ridge Farms' Wooden Collector's Boxes packed with Deluxe Mixed Nuts. His name, logo, phone number, and sales message was imprinted on the box cover.  He personally delivered the gifts, along with a Maple Ridge catalog, to his clients and key prospects. About a month later, he began following up and the orders started to roll in.  Not only were clients interested in giving the gift they had received, they were ordering a variety of other gifts from the catalog he'd included with each gift.  By the end of the year, his sales had jumped from zero to $20,000!

Here's something for which food gifts are uniquely suited: refills!  An Atlanta-based distributor ordered the Executive Jelly Bean Dispenser from Maple Ridge Farms and distributed it to his clients.  The gift was extraordinarily popular with those who received it. Needless to say, the necessity of regular refills was the perfect excuse for an occasional drop in with a bag of Jelly Beans. The eye-catching dispenser imprinted with the distributor's logo provided great additional exposure.

Although self-promotion gifts are good in the fourth quarter, they will do much more good if presented earlier in the year.  Get your name out early--let your client know what you can do for them, and give them the lasting reminder of your capabilities and goodwill.  Don't forget to follow up! With that simple investment, and some good follow up, your self-promotion program might help lead to your best year ever!

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