To make personalization a habit, sales reps should treat it like a key performance indicator. The goal for every sales call is to discover and document at least two personal details about the prospect in the CRM, making relationship-building a measurable activity.
Instead of focusing only on the primary decision-maker, send thoughtful gifts to stakeholders who do the heavy lifting but are often unappreciated, like procurement or operations teams. Acknowledging their work builds allies within the account and can remove friction from the buying process.
Gifting isn't just for prospecting; it's a powerful tool for customer success. After a sale, create contests and reward key adoption activities with small gifts. This gamification encourages users to engage with your product, turning initial usage into lasting habits.
When you don't have an established relationship, personalizing a gift can feel intrusive. A safer and more effective approach is to connect the gift to your sales message (e.g., a desk plant to "grow our partnership"), making it clever and relevant rather than overly personal.
While gifting is useful for cold outreach, its greatest impact comes when you have an established relationship but the prospect isn't ready to buy. This nurtures the connection and keeps you top-of-mind, optimizing for when they eventually enter the market.
To ensure gifting is a consistent part of your sales process, treat it like any other critical activity. Block out 1-2 hours weekly, like on a Friday afternoon, and set a minimum KPI for sending a specific number of meaningful gifts or handwritten notes.