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The Power of Gifts
Posted in Growth
Posted by Oren Harari in December of 2000
Last week, Mike Childs, CEO and sole salesman of The Mike Childs Company, went on a business trip to visit prospective customers. The flight he wanted at the last moment was officially filled, and he didn't have a reservation, nor was he a frequent flyer on this airline. At the ticket counter, he asked the agent, "Do you have kids at home?" After receiving the affirmative answer, Mike reached into his carry-on and pulled out a gift. It was one of his company's products, a little plant-growing starter kit (more on this shortly) that kids, and parents, find irresistible.
"He lit up like a Christmas tree", recalls Mike. More importantly, the agent found Mike a premium bulkhead seat with nobody seating next to him.
Upon arrival at his destination, Mike went to pick up a rental car. Same scenario, new gift. Result: the woman at the counter upgraded him to a larger vehicle with leather seats. At the hotel, this sequence was repeated yet again. The hotel clerk was delighted (so was the manager on duty, who also got a gift) and Mike wound up with a suite-level room at a discount price.
Now that the holiday season is in full swing and gift-giving is on everyone's mind, I thought I'd introduce you to someone who understands the marketing clout of presents.
This is a little story about how one salesman improves his own quality of life and sells over 200 accounts in the
The Mike Childs Company, based in San Rafael, California, sells a variety of innovative gardening products, but the flagship products are cute little starter kits , such as:
- Big Red, a tomato starter kit which includes seeds and a container which is placed in a flower pot or in a garden.
- Window Herb, a kit with a clay pot and seeds for assorted herbs like basil, parsley, and catnip.
- Hawaiian Good Luck Ti (as in "tee") Plant, a kit with a log cutting from which sprouts a plant which Hawaiians say brings good luck, long life, and lasting love.
The company promotes its products through key outlet marketing, which means it advertises through TV and tells people which stores (usually drugstores and groceries) are carrying which products.
It's a good business, and Mike Childs enjoys selectively providing samples to people he meets along the way. Of course, while he gifts his products to plain folks like you and me, he does not do so with his customers: the retail buyers, the trade show professionals, the media people, and the like. Naturally, he sells his products to or through them. But does that mean they remain gift-less? Not at all.
Consider the buyer who curtly cut off Mike's telephone cold call with "I can't talk now. I'm hot and I'm hungry, and I don't like either one of them." Mike overnighted her a fan and a bag of trailmix, along with a short introductory note. He got an appointment right away.
Or the buyer who told Mike at the beginning of a phone call "You've got three minutes." He got an eggtimer the next day. He loved it, he laughed at it, and he gave Mike a lot more than three minutes in the subsequent phone call.
Or the buyer who couldn't accept Mike's invitation to lunch because "I'm on a diet." She got (again, the next day) an ice cooler full of veggies.
The list of gifts goes on and on: A huge coconut from
What's the moral of all this? Differentiation, for one thing. "I'm trying to stand out in a crowd", says Mike. "I'm trying to make them excited about me and my products."
Personalization, for another. "One time I was on my way to see a potential customer, who I learned was an avid hunter. On the way to his office, I stopped at a store and bought a videotape on deerhunting and a strawberry salt lick that could be used as a paperweight. He still has it on his desk."
Fun, for another. None of these are mass-produced executive suite gifts. "I've sent 8-foot photos of Bogart and Marilyn Monroe to certain people who I thought would get a kick out of them."
Low price, for another. "I'm not bribing anyone. It's clear none of these things cost a lot of money. It's a creative and cost-effective way to establish a personal relationship."
Most important, sincerity. "I take customers out to dinner and ballgames, but everyone does that. I choose gifts carefully, and they mean something to the people who receive them."
It occurs to me that these attributes work in a rough-and-tumble business world because as human beings, we're suckers for imagination and authenticity. As we approach this holiday season, maybe we can learn something from Mike Childs as we select and bestow gifts on our loved ones.