It’s that time of the year again. Lights, turkey, stuffing, family, songs, and business opportunity. If you’re a real estate agent, you know your gift obligations go beyond friends and family. Christmas is the perfect time to remind your clients you’re there when it’s time to sell and a good potential referral source when their friends visit, see your gift, and ask, “Where did you get that?” There are four characteristics you should aim for when getting your client a gift that will keep you at the forefront of their mind, and more importantly, their future business:

Unique

Unique gifts will stand out amidst knickknacks and the cornucopia of articles of clothing, gift cards, and other standard gifts that have come to be expected each Christmas, resulting in their recipience being less than memorable. A unique gift has a greater potential of leaving an impression, as well as inciting questions from any friends or family members, resulting in your name being mentioned to the benefit of both a potential referral and a reminder to your client.

Boutique

The gift you get your client should be a reflection of the hands on, white glove concierge service you provide them. Clients will likely conflate the value and craftsmanship of the gift with the type of customer service you provide. Consequently, a cheap, poorly made gift could actually have the opposite of the desired effect, subconsciously slating yourself in your client’s mind alongside the sultry condition of the gift. Instead, we recommend a luxury/boutique gift in an industry that typically churns relatively cheap materials and products. This way, you can create an association in your client’s mind between you and boutique style and class without breaking the bank in the process.

Repeat Delivery/Subscription

The reason for this is simple. Repetition breeds familiarity. A subscription service delivered monthly to your client is a good gift for the same reason so many agents turn to email drip campaigns for their marketing. It allows you to remind your client often and easily of you and the help you provided them in the past with no intervention on your part beyond initiation of the subscription service. What’s better than marketing that’s done for you?

Personalized/Esoteric

This last one will require more thought on your part. It’s a good idea to show clients that you listen and you’re emotionally invested in the relationship you’ve formed with them over the course of your business dealings. Nothing shows you care and you’ve listened more than a gift that panders exclusively to the personal interests of your client. You wouldn’t get your mom a gift card for Christmas, would you? She would likely be hurt at the lack of effort you put into a present like that. A client should be treated no differently. Real estate agent as a profession can be somewhat of an outlier in this sense. Unlike other industries, as a real estate agent, the best way to maintain and cultivate a business relationship is to treat it like a personal relationship. Doing this will create a bond between you and your client, increase repeat business, and increase referrals.

Now that we’ve laid out the foundation for a good client gift, please take a look at some companies that provide gifts we believe meets the criteria described above:

MiaBella

Refresh Glass Client Gifts

Frameology

Atlas Coffee Club

Do you have a favorite gift that you love giving to your clients? Comment below and ad links!

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