The Joy (and Strategy) of Client Gifts

 “Think about the person that's getting the gift more than like a branding or marketing opportunity. ” - Jess

The Joy (and Strategy) of Client Gifts

Today, we’re diving into a topic that’s especially timely as we head into the holiday season: gift giving. Whether you’re looking to show appreciation to clients, strengthen relationships, or simply spread some joy, the art of thoughtful and purposeful gift giving is something that can truly make a difference in our work as coaches and consultants.

• Key Highlights:

  • The Importance of Thoughtful Gifting As nonprofit consultants, we understand the significance of making meaningful connections. That's why we believe that thoughtful gifting can play an essential role in expressing gratitude and strengthening relationships with clients, partners, and staff.

  • Gifting Strategies for Client Relationships When it comes to showing appreciation to clients, we've found that personalized and useful gifts can go a long way. Whether it's a hand-picked book, a personalized mug, or even a lunch treat on Giving Tuesday, the key is to consider the recipient's interests and preferences. We've also explored the idea of supporting indigenous artists and businesses by gifting items such as artist-designed adult coloring books and indigenous-made products, aligning our gestures with our values.

  • Authenticity Over Branding During our conversation, we emphasized how the focus of gifting should be on the recipient rather than on branding or marketing opportunities. While branding has its place, it's crucial to ensure that the gifts we give reflect our values and what we stand for, resonating with the recipients on a personal level.

  Remember, it’s the thought and effort put into the gift that truly counts. Whether it’s a small token or a grand gesture, the intention behind the gift is what matters most. By showing genuine care and consideration, these heartfelt gestures can strengthen relationships and leave a lasting impression.

Find Us Online:  https://www.confessionswithjessandcindy.com/

Connect with Cindy:

Cindy Wagman Coaching: https://cindywagman.com/

The Good Partnership: https://www.thegoodpartnership.com/

Connect with Jess: 

Out In the Boons: https://www.outintheboons.me/

Transcript:

00:00:00 Cindy: Welcome to the Confessions podcast. I'm Cindy Wagman.

00:00:03 Jess: And I'm Jess Campbell. We're two former in-house nonprofit pros turned coaches and consultants to purpose driven organizations.

00:00:11 Cindy: After years of building up our separate six-figure businesses from scratch, we've thrown a lot of spaghetti at the wall and lived to see what sticks.

00:00:20 Jess: We're on a mission to help other nonprofit coaches and consultants looking to start or scale their own businesses past the six-figure mark by pulling back the curtain.

00:00:31 Cindy: Whether you're still working inside a nonprofit and thinking of one day going out on your own, or you've been running your consulting business for years, you understand that working with nonprofits is just different. We're giving you access to the business leaders who serve nonprofits as their clients. You know, the people who truly get it.

00:00:52 Jess: No more gatekeeping, no more secrets. This podcast is going to give you an inside look at what running a successful nonprofit coaching and consulting business looks like. Basically, we're asking people how much money they make, how they get paid, and what has and hasn't worked in their businesses.

00:01:11 Cindy: Listen in as these leaders share their insights, their numbers, and the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to building a nonprofit coaching or consulting business. We're going to empower you to make the power moves that give you the income and freedom you set out to create from day one.

00:01:28 Jess: You ready? Let's go.

00:01:31 Cindy: Hey, Jess. Hello.

00:01:35 Jess: We're back again.

00:01:35 Cindy: We're back and [streets] back. All right.

00:01:41 Jess: Not our theme song. Sorry, Asher. Every time you guys, I see Asher singing that song, I just–

00:01:49 Cindy: She sends it to me.

00:01:50 Jess: Always send it to her because I will never ever, ever let her live down that she didn't know the theme song.

00:01:55 Cindy: I didn't know. I didn't know it. And, yep, it's my shame forever.

00:02:01 Jess: It's okay. You know it well now.

00:02:04 Cindy: Yeah. What I don't tell you is I don't actually watch the videos you sent me.

00:02:09 Jess: Oh, my God. I got to get more sneaky covert.

00:02:16 Cindy: Got to play it in the car or something next time we're together.

00:02:19 Jess: Yeah.

00:02:20 Cindy: Okay, the holidays are coming up.

00:02:22 Jess: I know, which is nutso, nutso bananas.

00:02:25 Cindy: It's so crazy. But now is the time when I'm trying to figure out what gifts to give for the holidays and other gifts. Cause we're not just talking about holiday gifts, but this is what sparked this conversation.

00:02:38 Jess: Yeah.

00:02:40 Cindy: I love giving gifts.

00:02:42 Jess: Okay, so you do?

00:02:44 Cindy: I do.

00:02:45 Jess: What?

00:02:46 Cindy: I love giving gifts.

00:02:46 Jess: You're always the one that's like, we're not doing gifts.

00:02:49 Cindy: Oh, because I don't like giving, okay. I like giving gifts.

00:02:52 Jess: It won't give me a gift?

00:02:54 Cindy: No, I love when I give gifts where there's not an expectation of return gifts. So when we get together and everyone brings a little sign, it's anticipated. So I actually really don't love holidays. I'm very much a Grinch. I don't like birthdays, Valentine's Day, any of them. I do not like giving gifts around that.

00:03:21 Cindy: But I like surprising people with little presents and stuff like that. And I know that holiday gifts are a thing. So for customers, I do it. But we don't give gifts to my family. Like my husband, I don't give gifts to each other at all. Period.

00:03:37 Jess: And it's just a surprise because the last couple of times we've gotten together, I will shout out Ria Wong. Gifts are definitely one of her lovely–

00:03:46 Cindy: I know.

00:03:46 Jess: Which is, and she always brings a little something special, but Cindy's always like–

00:03:52 Cindy: Like ladies–

00:03:53 Jess: We're just confirming that we're not bringing gifts, right? So I was surprised.

00:03:58 Cindy: I know, no, I do love giving gifts, but again, like, I don't like the expectation of gifts. Yeah.

00:04:05 Jess: Yeah. I would say I, like, I'm somewhat in the middle. For example, there's like, when I see the right gift for the right person at the right time, I like, will snatch that up. I just actually today, got an email from one of my favorite vintage shops. It was like this Capricorn sweatshirt from the 90s. I just was like, boom, Lee, that's her birthday present. I've literally never bought my friend Lee a birthday present in my life, but this is the year that I saw the thing that she needs to have. That's more my thing. I also loathe waste.

00:04:46 Cindy: Yes.

00:04:49 Jess: I don't like to give gifts that I know are going straight into the trash.

00:04:54 Cindy: Totally. Totally. So let's talk about some gift ideas that we have or have done.

00:05:02 Jess: Well, who first are you giving gifts to?

00:05:04 Cindy: Okay. So I actually don't know yet for this year-end. I usually try to give gifts to new clients when we start working together. I'm on the hunt. I have these key chains similar to the ones we had at Icon. They're like motel key chains, but they're my old brand. So I'm trying, I have, they're still half decent, but I want to get rid of them. But I am, cause they're nice and they don't have their, they are basically like the motel key chain. On one side has, not my brand name, it just has my older logo, which I still use for the fractional fundraising stuff.

00:05:46 Cindy: So it has that and then on the other side, it says good human. So it's not like anything. It's nice. I think it's nice. It's useful. It's cute. And it's not like The Good Partnership or Cindy Wagman. There's no names on it. So I love those. And I just actually like, packaged a bunch to send out. I can't show you the front of the envelope, but it's kind of mailable, which I like. I'm starting to look for things that I can send in letter mail. Because I do have more clients and I am sending more gifts.

00:06:24 Cindy: And I can't be spending like, Canada shipping is really expensive. It can cost me 10 to 15 bucks a package. And that's like half my budget. I try to do active clients for sure. And I also often will do, to just people in my network or who refer business to me, affiliates, things like that. Not all at your end, but those are the types of people I will send gifts to.

00:06:54 Jess: Yeah.

00:06:55 Cindy: What about you?

00:06:55 Jess: What about your staff? Did you say them?

00:06:57 Cindy: I don't have any staff anymore.

00:06:59 Jess: Even your, well, your assistant's far, far away.

00:07:01 Cindy: My assistant, I'll just send her money. Like–

00:07:03 Jess: Yeah. I think it's always the right size, shape and color. I think that's what I'm going to do for my team this year too, is just give, like a bonus situation.

00:07:15 Cindy: I love giving bonuses too.

00:07:17 Jess: Oh yeah. Especially when they're, like not promised or expected. It's just like–

00:07:21 Cindy: Surprise! Here’s money.

00:07:21 Jess: Freak out. Yeah. And it's, I had a boss, that we had a team of like 15 and every year, she would give us like a $150 or $200 Amazon gift card and then like surprise, take us out to lunch and then give us the afternoon off. And it was like the best. Yeah. It was the best.

00:07:45 Cindy: Yeah. Just like–

00:07:45 Jess: Feed me. Let me go early.

00:07:47 Cindy: Give me, spending money. Yeah.

00:07:49 Jess: Yeah.

00:07:50 Cindy: [Inaudible] Amazon, but we all use it. So.

00:07:54 Jess: You know what I mean? Yeah. Or like a visa gift card or something. I can't remember because this was a while ago. Okay, I'm trying to think of some of the things that I've given that I've gotten good feedback on. Because I always try and, get kind of creative with what I send. And my, do I have one here? Yes. If you're watching this on YouTube, which I don't know people actually do. I have given out like sage bundles or smudge sticks around clearing energy. They're really pretty. They're from a local maker. I've also given things like I got these camp style camping mugs.

00:08:35 Cindy: Yeah.

00:08:36 Jess: But they weren't branded with me. In fact, I had people vote on the slogan. People like those and they've sent me photos of people drinking out of them. I've given Matchbox, I've given my favorite sets of pens. Sometimes I've given, like a really good book I've read.

00:08:59 Cindy: I'm pretty sure I have a book or two from you. Yeah.

00:09:01 Jess: Yeah. Sometimes I've just given like, punk post, which is just like these beautiful cards.

00:09:07 Cindy: I love.

00:09:09 Jess: Yeah.

00:09:09 Cindy: I actually have one of your punk posts. I literally have it right here.

00:09:17 Jess: Oh, yay.

00:09:19 Cindy: It's so beautiful. So if you are watching–

00:09:21 Jess: They do such a great job. Yeah. And especially if you want, like, to keep it under $10 or $8, they're a really great option. I think one of the things I'm going to do for my, like one-on-one copywriting clients this year is, like cater them lunch on Giving Tuesday. It's just such an intense day.

00:09:44 Cindy: Yeah.

00:09:45 Jess: There's also not a lot you can do on the day. And so it's like, might as well send them some lunch.

00:09:53 Cindy: We love that.

00:09:54 Jess: What are some other things that... Oh, keep talking and I'm gonna go show you all something a brand sent me for becoming a client that I was like–

00:10:04 Cindy: Okay.

00:10:05 Jess: Well done. One second.

00:10:08 Cindy: All right. Well, the things... One of the things I'm obsessed with right now are puzzles, but designed by artists. Because we all are so busy and puzzles are a great tool to kind of like, clear your mind and get focused on something. So I actually have a stack of these puzzles that are artist designed that I send to clients. The other–

00:10:33 Jess: [The other one].

00:10:34 Cindy: Yeah, you have one of those too. Yeah. And I actually like, pick which puzzle people get based on like the vibe I get from them. I give personalized mugs sometimes. I get people's names put on them.

00:10:48 Jess: I like that.

00:10:49 Cindy: Yeah, I have like, a whole little like, tickle trunk here. Yeah, I like mugs because again, and it has their name, not my name. So it's useful and cute and very personalized. What else have I done? Oh, so last holiday season, I got these little... So I'm trying to prioritize purchasing from Indigenous makers. So I got this like muscle balm, I can't remember the name of it, but from an Indigenous owned brand. And so I bought like 25 of those and I sent those out.

00:11:32 Cindy: So that was... I really like that. I was... I'll give away what I was thinking of this year and, I might still do, is coloring books, but again by like, adult coloring books by indigenous artists. So that's another thing. I like the idea of coloring books again, because it kind of quiets our minds a little bit, which I feel like people need right now. Yeah, okay, show me, show us.

00:12:01 Jess: Okay, yes. If you guys are in my world, I talk about this brand a little bit because I'm trying them out this year. It's called Handwrytten with a Y and they basically have the ability to, using AI and a ballpoint pen, send letters, customize envelopes, things like that with what looks like real writing. The way it works, it can work if you're a consultant, is you can essentially buy a bunch of credits and then use them on behalf of your clients, which is what I did. So I spent upfront like some money and then they sent me this box and I was like, what is this?

00:12:40 Jess: And so I first got a “Handwritten” note from our CEO, which I'm sure wasn't handwritten but it sure did look like it, which will go so long and so far.

00:12:54 Cindy: Yeah.

00:12:54 Jess: And then they gave this stack of cards, which I think is just kind of like fun. And then they also gave this leather bound journal with a pen. And I am such a, like, right. Like I'm over here trying to make Fathom work, you guys, so much. And I just keep writing in my notebook. So for me, like, a new fresh notebook to start the year, especially one that has like hard, like it's hard. Can you hear that? It's not, like, flimsy.

00:13:28 Cindy: I hear. But it's significant.

00:13:31 Jess: Yeah, it's great. And then let's see what else. Coasters. I think that that might be it, but it was just like such a surprise and delight moment, which, and it felt like things that are actually useful. Like none of that is really, like branded in a way that I wouldn't want to carry out in public. Another idea, that… she talks about it a lot, but our friend, Rach, received a money. I think it's called a money tree, not a money plant, a money tree from Stephanie, our resident 100 degrees consulting fractional accountant.

00:14:15 Jess: And I was like, oh my gosh, that is so on brand. So Stephanie sent this money tree to everyone of her clients, which, and it like lives on, which I think is just so on brand, but like not branding. You know what I mean? Another thing, you can't see them now. I was gifted, them for my wedding and now I send them all the time. They're these prosperity hens and I hang it right outside my office door.

00:14:45 Cindy: What is a prosperity hen?

00:14:47 Jess: It's like, can you see that, like, hanging thing?

00:14:50 Cindy: Okay. Yeah.

00:14:51 Jess: It's like the string of this kind of fabric pens that have bells on them and they're meant to bring prosperity to you. So I found a local maker who does them and you can do that as well. I think the thing that we're, like kind of in a nutshell saying, because I have, I've basically gotten like mugs with someone else's logo on it. And it's not even a good mug. It's like a small mug. Like I drink out of mugs that are the size of my head, not like these little cappuccino mugs. Like I usually put it in a good will.

00:15:24 Cindy: Yeah.

00:15:25 Jess: So I guess we're trying to say like, think about the person that's getting the gift more than like a branding or marketing opportunity.

00:15:35 Cindy: Yeah, exactly. And yeah, make it useful and pretty. And I always think like, to your point, like how does it also reinforce your brand, not from a logo perspective, but what you stand for? Right? So what you care about, what you stand for, what your values are, and then have fun and be creative. I'd love to hear what people are… end up sending. So shoot us a note and let us know.

00:16:06 Jess: I know. I'm thinking forward. But when this goes live, we'll have to post it on LinkedIn and then everyone in the comments will have to share what it is you're sending out.

00:16:15 Cindy: Yeah.

00:16:15 Jess: Gifts to clients and staff. And I just will say it again, like money really is always the right size, shape and color. So when in doubt, like, it will always be appreciated.

00:16:26 Cindy: Yeah, exactly. And it's the thought that counts, which is counter, like those two are kind of contradictory but not in the sense that it doesn't have to be, always something fancy, it can be heartfelt. And that also goes a long way.

00:16:46 Jess: A super long way.

00:16:47 Cindy: Yeah.

00:16:48 Jess: Happy gift giving!

00:16:49 Cindy: Happy gifting!

00:16:52 Cindy: Thank you again for listening to the Confessions podcast for nonprofit coaches and consultants. If you enjoyed today's episode, which I sure hope you did, you can show your support in one of three ways.

00:17:03 Jess: Number one, post a screenshot of this episode to your Instagram stories or LinkedIn profile and tag Cindy and I so we can repost you.

00:17:11 Cindy: Number two, share this podcast with a fellow nonprofit coach or consultant.

00:17:16 Jess: And number three, leave a positive review on Apple Podcasts so we can continue to grow and reach new listeners.

00:17:22 Cindy: And of course, make sure you subscribe so you can get the latest and greatest interviews as they drop every Thursday.

00:17:29 Jess: And to our fellow nonprofit coaching and consulting friends, remember, we're an open book and here to answer your burning biz questions.

00:17:37 Cindy: See you next time.