Appropriate Gifts for Sales People, Clients and Vendors

As your business prepares for the holiday season, you may be thinking, “I do a lot of business with Company X. What can I get their company representative for the holidays?”
Your initial temptation may be to get him or her something extravagant, thereby showing your appreciation for the company’s business. This is an instance where trusting your instincts may not be such a good idea.
Companies have become increasingly apprehensive about accepting gifts that might be considered a bribe or an inducement to do business.

Here are some suggestions:
Check the policy of the company. Some companies completely prohibit the receiving of gifts by employees. In such a case, respect the company’s rules. Send a holiday card to express your gratitude.
Even if the company allows gifts, don’t go crazy. Expensive gifts make company representatives nervous. Many think that accepting a high-priced gift obligates them to continue doing business. A small basket of candy or fruit says “Thank You” without making the person uncomfortable.
Small gifts with corporate logos (pens, coffee mugs, Post-It notes) send the right message: “We appreciate your business.” All-expense trips to Jamaica might be pushing the envelope.

Gift Giving: What should we buy?

Does this ever happen to you? Your company is sponsoring a conference and you want to give potential clients a meaningful gift but have no ideas. Or your son’s twenty first birthday is coming up and you don’t have a clue what to give him. You are going Holiday shopping, but can’t find the life of you remember what is “in” this season or can’t find products that fit into the budget.
Gift giving. It can be so frustrating. No matter what occasion we’re buying for, we want to give something memorable, something that will show the person how we feel. But we’re all so busy, we tend to rush into a store at the last moment to pick something out, wandering around with blank stares as we wonder what the person would like. Sometimes we have a limited budget, which can make it even harder.
Whether we are aware of it or not, gifts are symbols and no matter what we purchase, we are expressing our thoughts and feelings to the recipient. We all intuitively know this. There is a very different sentiment implied behind giving a clock and a diamond bracelet, between long stemmed red roses and a broom. But when we make our sentiment explicit, we can transform the meaning of a simple item.

Gift-Giving in Asia

Because of the significance of interpersonal relationships, gift-giving is an essential feature in Asian societies.
In Chinese-based cultures, it’s the guanxi or connection that is critical. And to build up guanxi, you must take people to dinner or give gifts.
In any Asian culture, little or no distinction is made between business and personal relationships. To succeed, you must cultivate close personal ties with business associates and earn their respect and trust.
These personal connections are at least as important as what you know. Above all, remember that business is first and foremost personal. You can’t have the former without the latter.
In China, for example, most things seem to be in short supply. So to do business, you need to know people.
A successful person in China will have a network of friends, acquaintances, relatives and associates. These people do favors for one another and always seek a rough balance between help given and received.
No matter where you travel on business in Asia, remember you are building friendships first and business connections second.