Help for Last-Minute Business Gift-Givers

If you're scrambling to get a gift into your customer's hands before they take off for the holidays, relax. "Think New Year's" suggests SalesDog.com Managing Editor Tina LoSasso in the new sales advice book, Top Dog Sales Secrets.

Get the cards in the mail. Then send an appropriate New Year's gift. Think pens, desk clocks, or paperweights, packaged with noisemakers and streamers. Timing your gift to arrive right before New Year's is a great way to stand apart from everyone else.

When is a gift not a gift? When it comes with your company's logo on it. Save the logo-embossed pens, paperweights, mouse pads and calculators for trade shows. And gift certificates from your own company are not really gifts. They're promotions that make you look stingier than Scrooge. Instead, send a gift certificate from a national department store or ecommerce site. Many sites offer corporate gift certificate programs.

Remember, everyone gets a card. All clients, large and small, should receive a holiday card. Avoid religious themes. Stick to "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings" and again, no advertising. Resist the urge to add your company logo or business tagline on a greeting card.

Tina LoSasso is Managing Editor of SalesDog.com and a contributor to the new sales advice book, Top Dog Sales Secrets.

Capture your prospect's attention with a business letter

While working on my Christmas cards, I got to thinking about sending mail to clients. It's a form of contact that is under-appreciated in selling today, and is a great addition to your rotation of meetings, calls, and e-mails. Sales expert Steve Martinez has some great advice on how to make sure your prospects are intrigued by your sales letters.

"Salespeople often overlook the advantages of using business letters for sales growth," says Martinez. "The facts suggest that fewer salespeople are using the business letter to develop relationships. Mailing and postcards are very popular but these are not as effective as a true business letter. This is a missed opportunity; we can capture more business when we send a traditional business letter."

The Old Fashioned Business Letter"Businesses are looking for ways to improve their marketing objectives and this requires a more personalized, targeted approach. The old fashioned business letter cuts through the clutter of other mailings. If you want to be read, use a personalized business letter approach. You can automate this process with your business printer so your mailings appear personal, which will increase the letters' effectiveness."

There are a few things that make business letters stand out from a stack of mail:

• When you make your letter bumpy, it will often get to the top of the mail and create a curiosity factor to your advantage. I have used rubber bands, cotton balls and other squishy things to make my mail bumpy from the inside. Just be sure to use a first class stamp and it will get through.

• Always using postage stamps instead of metered mail makes your envelope stand out. If your mail is metered, it looks like a business letter.

• You increase readership when you hand address each envelope.

• Don't identify your envelope with a business logo, because it reduces the ratio of openings, if the customer assumes your message is a business letter.

Steve Martinez is a leading authority on automating and systemizing the selling process. His company, Selling Magic, LLC teaches businesses how to simplify, balance and automate the complex selling process. Learn more at http://www.sellingmagic.com