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Posted on December 20, 2008 - by admin

Five Rules to Live By When Giving Business Gifts

When it comes to giving business gifts, keep in mind that it is entirely different from giving personal gifts to family members and friends. Business gifts are given out for any number of business related reasons. You might want to thank a client who has helped secure a business venture; you might want to thank a client for their business in the past and encourage them to continue to do business with you; you might want to send a gift if you hear that a customer or client has fallen ill or has undergone surgery, or you even might want to send a gift if you find out that a client has relocated to a new home or office building as a housewarming or office warming gift. Whatever the reason, you must strive to make the gift as memorable as possible as you want it to stand out. Above all, you do not want to send a gift that is too showy, too expensive, terribly pretentious or at all offensive. Let’s look at five rules to live by when giving business gifts.

Rule number one is to become as well acquainted with your own company as possible. This is especially the case if you are new to the company and are just getting your feet wet. You do not want to go outside the boundaries of proper office etiquette and worse yet be called into the boss’ office because of it. Some companies have a policy regarding giving business gifts while others do not. Find out if your company does before you go ahead and send one to a client. If you can get a hard copy of the corporate gift giving policy then do so. If gifts are okay according to the company policy then will the ones you choose be charged to your particular budget or will they be charged to an overhead financial account? As well find out exactly what the gift-giving budget is so you do not exceed it.

Rule number two is always know your colleagues or co-workers as best as you can. Find out if you have some of the same clients on your gift-giving list as your work colleagues and if so then perhaps you could work together to buy a gift. You might want to combine your resources and buy one business gift instead of two or else buy two gifts that work as a set.

Rule number three is to know the company of your client. Does the person’s company have a limit on how many gifts an employee can receive or is there any value limit set on these gifts? No one relishes the thought of having to turn down a gift because it is in violation of a business’ policy.

Rule number four is to always know your client as well as possible. What does he like to do in his spare time? Is he a golfer, an avid reader or a car enthusiast? Would it be best to send the gift to his home or workplace? Pay attention to your clients so this one will be simple for you to figure out.

Rule number five is to always be well versed on who your suppliers are. Depending on what kind of product you want to give for a business gift, do you know the best place to shop for it? Where can you get top quality as well as an excellent price for the wares you are interested in? Can you get a number of different products from one supplier or must you go to more than one place? How about things like options for payment for delivery and delivery time? Some people like suppliers that gift-wrap the gifts they are sending. If this appeals to you then find out if it is an option or not.