Exclusive gifts to wow clients

Everyone loves to receive a gift. The concept of “a free gift with your purchase” is familiar to anyone who has walked through perfume counters at a major department store. In Louisiana, the Creole expression “lagniappe” is often described as “a little something extra” that a merchant would give customers with a transaction. In Asia, presenting a gift to the host when you visit their home is considered a sign of respect. Gift giving creates goodwill. It’s a sign of respect. When an advisor presents a gift to a client — whether it’s to acknowledge a holiday, birthday, anniversary or simply appreciation — the gesture is a way of saying, “You are an important client.”

But don’t go overboard. The gift should not be too big or too expensive. Check with your market’s regulatory body about rules regarding gifts to clients. In the U.S., for example, the regulatory body FINRA sets the annual limit for gifts to any one client at $100in value. Every advisor should know this rule. If they don’t, their compliance officer will remind them. So, let’s look at several gift ideas:

1. Everyone loves something tasty. Holiday celebrations usually revolve around food. You could send sweets from a famous chocolatier. I know one financial professional who sends bags of oranges from Florida. How about an entire leg of Iberico ham with a stand and a carving knife? (Spanish ham is a delicacy.) Advent calendars are abundant during the holiday season, and depending on your client’s taste, you can gift versions that have hot sauce, jams, honey behind the little doors or even pet treats for cat lovers.

2. Wine works. Holiday celebrations can involve champagne and wine, although some cultures abstain from alcohol, and if so, avoid gifting such items in those situations. When you are visiting someone’s home, giving a bottle of wine can seem almost anonymous as there might be so many other wine gifts sitting on the table by the door. So, think big. You can find reasonably priced wines in large, formal bottles of 3 liters or larger. Three liters is equal to four bottles. It will tower over the others and make a statement. If you look at wines from Chile, Spain or Italy, you should be able to find them under $100. Ask your favorite wine merchant to keep their eyes open.

3. Speak to their personality. When we visited friends in Florida, I noticed three attractive, framed photos of birds in their study. I asked about them, and my friend explained that the collection was a gift from their financial advisor. The advisor knew the client had a passion for bird watching and gave his client a gift that he would enjoy looking at day after day.

4. A picture of your client having a good time. If you host client events, someone should be taking plenty of photos. Every so often you get the picture where the lighting is perfect, and your client looks great. Enlarge the photo, put it into a nice frame and present it as a wrapped gift. On one occasion I had the picture turned into a jigsaw puzzle and gave it to the couple.

5. Give a travel book. Your client has a major anniversary coming up, and they planned “the trip of a lifetime.” This journey was arranged far in advance, and you know they are excited. Buy them a glossy coffee-table book featuring the destination they will be visiting. You might add a travel guide highlighting the top 10 sights to see or a Michelin restaurant guide for that city. As the excitement builds for their adventure, you are part of the process.

6. Buy them a magazine subscription. Do they have a special interest? Maybe they are gourmet chefs at home or fashion is their interest. Buy them a subscription to a magazine they are not currently receiving that covers their special interest or hobby. It could be a six-month subscription if the magazine is expensive. Buy the current issue, roll it up, wrap a ribbon around it and include a note explaining it will be arriving every month. Your client should remember you every time a new issue arrives.

7. Give them an attractive desk calendar. This might be in the form of a leather-bound journal for the year. It might have your firm’s initials discreetly in one corner. Mention that it will be an ideal place to keep track of birthdays and anniversaries. With your help, they can mark down when tax payments are due and keep track of your appointments for portfolio reviews. They can note practical things like when they have theater or sports tickets booked, doctor appointments and vacation dates. Many people might do this online, but month-at-a-glance calendar pages make planning ahead and keeping track easier, especially for older clients.

8. The latest book by their favorite author. Say you have a few clients who own every book by a famous cookbook author, or you have another client who reads every novel by their favorite writer. Have you noticed their new books tend to come out close to the holidays? There is a reason for that. If you live in a major city, it’s possible there will be a book signing. Get the book early and present it to your client before they get one. Signing it on the interior and personalizing it reminds them it is from you whenever they open it.

These are only a few examples for gifts with staying power, useful presents or something their friends will notice and ask: “Where did you get that?” In all these cases, your story is told and retold.

Bryce Sanders is president of Perceptive Business Solutions Inc. He provides high-net-worth client acquisition training for the financial services profession. His book “Captivating the Wealthy Investor” is available on Amazon. Contact him at brycesanders@msn.com.