38: Should You Send Gifts to Your Coaching Clients?

This episode is a mini ... because I am selling my house and moving, so these are short, unedited off-the-cuff episodes for you.I'm getting some really positive comments about these!Today's topic is ... should you send gifts to your coaching clients? The first answer is that it's totally up to you and you should always do what you feel is right. I think that every coach deserves the opportunity to try things out and see how they work for them. We're not all the same.That said, I'll tell you that I have changed my tune about giving gifts to clients over the years.When I first started my business, I got pretty precious about every aspect of my business. I bought all these beautiful little envelopes and cards and all sorts of paraphernalia with my coaching business logo on it. (That was the old fashioned thing that people said you should do and I bought into it.) I would also send my clients birthday gifts and Christmas gifts. I put a lot of thought into them.But over the years, I noticed that I wasn't getting the reception that I really wanted to from giving those gifts. And I think that sometimes gifts are so personal. We all have such different tastes.Giving a gift to a client can sometimes burden the client and burden the relationship. So my new thought about it is not to give gifts.If you do give gifts, whether they are for birthdays or Christmas or a similar holiday, I would suggest that you keep them small and relatable and perhaps something that's relatively generic, such as an Amazon gift card. That is unless you know for sure that a specific gift is going to land with your client. For example, if a client mentions a book they want, just send it to them even if it's not yet their birthday. Then you will have done them a great favor and they'll feel that you listened to them. I think that gifts that have your logo on it, such as a cup or a pen, come across a bit salesy and they might even do the reverse of what you want them to do.Now there is a circumstance that I still give gifts that I feel really good about ...When a past client or a colleague refers a new client to me, someone who enrolls in my long term program, I like to respond in a personal way.Recently one of my colleagues — a fellow trainer at coach Training Alliance, the place where I wrote curriculum — sent me a number of clients who all enrolled!I called her and thanked her then said: "I want to treat you to something that you don't normally treat yourself to." She loves massage. So, I asked her who her massage therapist is and got his contact information. I called him and said: "I want to gift my friend with a number of sessions with you."I bought her four massages and sent her an email saying: "You've got four sessions waiting for you with your massage therapist." She loved that gift.Reward past clients for referrals. They feel special when it's something personal that they really want.Now, if you have something that you really want to put into the hands of your clients at a special time in their lives, then you should do that These days, because I have so much expertise in helping coaches build a successful business, I have a lot of guides I've written that are primers. I like to gift those out to my clients throughout my signature program. And because there's a constant flow of extras coming to them, I think that there isn't any expectation or real desire for any other kind of gift.I hope you got value out of this mini episode!The Next Episode is: How to Assess if a Potential Clients is a Good Fit for You