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Although it might sound funny to some, the time to start planning for the holidays is now – especially where business is concerned. Most companies start putting together their holiday budget in the 3rd Quarter. Although it has nothing to do with the “Christmas in July” phrase, I have always found it quite timely.

Now is the time to start thinking about what message you want to send your clients, your employees, your vendors, etc. Do you want to say “Thank You!” amidst the Thanksgiving holiday or during the Christmas season. A great way to separate your business from all the others is to send a “Thanks for your business this past year” gift a bit early, before it has the chance of being lost in the rush of the other holiday gifts your clients will be receiving. Or plan a special beginning of the year gift giving with a special message letting your customers know you look forward to working with them in the coming year.

Which ever you decide, do something. Do something special, plan ahead and put some thought into it. Don’t wait until the last minute. Your advanced planning will pay off in several ways -early planning means less stress during the holidays, better selection and more time to come up with some great ideas, and better pricing. Best of all, your business associates and clients will notice your extra efforts and that can make a huge difference.
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About The Author:

Sally Liddicoat is a Wife, Mother, Speaker and the Founder & CEO of AttaBoy! Solutions. Her goal is to help businesses increase sales, generate ongoing referrals, strengthen relationships and create loyal customers and employees through appreciation marketing. Throughout this blog you can sign up for updates, news, special offers, discounts and more. So take a look around, leave a comment or two and enjoy.

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As your appreciation grows for those you do business with, you are probably thinking, “I do a lot of business with whom ever. “What should I get them to show my appreciation?”

Your first thought is probably to get him or her something expensive and flamboyant, to make sure they know how much you appreciate them. Get that thought out of your head.  You should never give an expensive gift just to try to win points.  If you had a sale or wrote a contract for several  thousand or millions of dollars, sure an expensive gift would be great but that’s the only time.

Here are a couple great rules you can gift by:

• Check the policy of the company. For some companies it is totally a no-no to give their employees gifts. If that’s the case, respect their company’s rules. Send them a card or hand written thank you, it will mean a lot to them.

• 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 with you. There are many inexpensive yet very nice gifts that say “Thank You” without making them nervous.
• DO NOT send gifts with corporate logos (pens, coffee mugs, Post-It notes). They will remember who the gift is from without your company name screaming at them.

The best thing you can do is put some thought behind what you give. Give something you wouldn’t mind getting your self.  Don’t just grab any old thing and though you don’t want to spend a fortune, don’t be cheap either.  The quality of the gift you give says a lot about you and your company.  A good quality gift that you put thought into will say “We appreciate your business”.  Also, be sure you attach a nice card with it.
Following some simple, common sense guidelines for gift giving will take you a long way in both business and personal situations that call for gifts.
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About The Author:

	Mike Liddicoat is a Husband, Father, Speaker and the Sales & Marketing Director of AttaBoy! Solutions. His goal is to help businesses maintain relationships, ensure future business and acquire new referrals through appreciation marketing. Throughout this blog you can sign up for updates, news, special offers, discounts and more. So take a look around, leave a comment or two and enjoy.
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is the sound of my name. Oh wait! That’s not how it goes…

The most beautiful sound in the world to someone is the sound of their own name.

People really do like to hear the sound of their own name. Not only does it personalize a conversation, it let’s them know you are paying attention and shows that you think they are important. This is especially important when dealing with employees. You can put all the business gifts and reward programs in place, but if you don’t treat your employees with respect and your words don’t match your actions – you are dropping the ball.

Below are a few simple suggestions that can reap huge rewards:

• A good way to personalize any reinforcer is to use the person’s first name when delivering the comment. Tell him or her why the behavior or result is important to you.

• Greet employees by name when you pass their desks or pass them in the hall.

• When discussing an employee’s or a group’s ideas with other people, peers, or higher management, make sure you give credit.

• Acknowledge individual achievements by using employees’ names when preparing status reports.

• Name a continuing recognition award after an outstanding employee.

On a side note, remember not to over-use a persons name. This runs the risk of actually becoming annoying and offensive. Similarly, when using someone’s name, be genuine. It’s great to dole out compliments, but when the sincerity is lacking your employees will see right through you.

As mentioned previously, these are very simple suggestions. Any one can do them. It takes no special skills, no detailed planning. Just a willingness to look around, pay attention to the people around you, and then let them know what they are doing right.
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About The Author:

Sally Liddicoat is a Wife, Mother, Speaker and the Founder & CEO of AttaBoy! Solutions. Her goal is to help businesses increase sales, generate ongoing referrals, strengthen relationships and create loyal customers and employees through appreciation marketing. Throughout this blog you can sign up for updates, news, special offers, discounts and more. So take a look around, leave a comment or two and enjoy.

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It doesn’t have to be a special occasion to show appreciation for your loyal customers.  Loyalty programs can be used year round for clients and business partners as well.  A properly implemented customer loyalty program can work well for all kinds of businesses, from retail stores to personal trainers.

There are several reasons you want to implement a loyalty program in your business:

• To thank existing customers
• To reward for referrals
• To acknowledge a large or significant purchase

The list could go on.  The most effective programs offer graduated rewards – the more a customer spends, the more they earn.  This rewards your best, most profitable clients or customers for their continued patronage.

Receiving a gift makes your customer feel good about your company, especially if they see the gift as something of value or something that is useful to them.  Thanking people with a gift for being your customer gives them a sense of loyalty to you and every time they use that gift it will help to solidify that relationship.
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About The Author:

Sally Liddicoat is a Wife, Mother, Speaker and the Founder & CEO of AttaBoy! Solutions. Her goal is to help businesses increase sales, generate ongoing referrals, strengthen relationships and create loyal customers and employees through appreciation marketing. Throughout this blog you can sign up for updates, news, special offers, discounts and more. So take a look around, leave a comment or two and enjoy.

Contact Sally

While I primarily tend to write about building relationships, gift giving etiquette, etc., I would be remiss if I neglected the other side of the coin -the person getting the gift. Whenever someone gives a gift, awards a prize or offers an incentive there is a recipient on the other end. And although the phrase “It is better to give than to receive” clearing points towards the person doing the giving, it is equally important to be a gracious receiver.

How are you doing in this area? If you are generally someone who likes to give gifts, you are probably less comfortable on the receiving end. However, some of the tips below will be very easy for you. If you are the one who just loves being on the receiving side of a gift, you may have more of a challenge giving back. Either way, you should always express your gratitude. You don’t need to prepare a long dissertation, two words will do: Thank You.

A hand written thank you note or card is always best. This lets the person that sent the gift know that you received and appreciated it. A card also adds a personal touch and could easily end up being a keepsake. If you’re just not a card sender, that’s okay, but at least pick up the phone and give them a ring.

Also, don’t be ungrateful when you receive a gift. It shouldn’t even have to be said. Just say thank you. Even if it’s the wrong style, wrong color, wrong size, wrong whatever… Even if you don’t like it at all you should at least be thankful that someone cared enough to give it to you. A gracious receiver is genuinely appreciative and would never look a gift horse in the mouth.
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About The Author:

Sally Liddicoat is a Wife, Mother, Speaker and the Founder & CEO of AttaBoy! Solutions. Her goal is to help businesses increase sales, generate ongoing referrals, strengthen relationships and create loyal customers and employees through appreciation marketing. Throughout this blog you can sign up for updates, news, special offers, discounts and more. So take a look around, leave a comment or two and enjoy.

Contact Sally

After waiting almost a week, today was my first day with my new administrative assistant. Although I thought I was doing most of the teaching and training, it didn’t take long for me to learn a lesson for myself. It reminded me of a conversation I recently had while working with a new client. They were wanting to send thank you gifts to their clients. My usual line of questions begins with asking what kinds of things they have done in the past. I often get the same types of answers. Sometimes we do this, sometimes we do that, and sometime we are just so busy it never gets done. Oh how I know that feeling!

Obviously it was just what a gift concierge company likes to hear… My lesson came when I realized I made the same types of comments, only not about giving gifts. I said it about other aspects of my business – mainly the administrative things. I, much like every other business owner, find myself with only so much time available and far too many tasks that need my attention. Or at least someones attention.

Just as my recommendation to my client was to let us handle every aspect possible to help them thank their clients, I discovered that I needed to do the same thing in my business and have someone else handle the things that didn’t need to be directly handled by me. You’ve probably heard the buzz phrase “Work on your business, not in it”. I had heard it too. However, hearing it and doing something to fix it are two completely different things.

My clients turned over their gift giving responsibilities to us, which make sense. It’s our ‘job’, it’s what we do. I am now in the process of turning over my administrative tasks to an assistant. It’s her ‘job’, it’s what she does.

What is it that you need to let go of? What tasks could be better handled by someone else. When you delegate the tasks not requiring your specific attention, you free yourself to work on your business instead of in it. You give yourself back time -time to do the things you want to do, time to do the things your in business to do, time to do the things that serve your clients. And better yet, you give your clients the a something they will truly appreciate -you, your time and attention!
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About The Author:

Sally Liddicoat is a Wife, Mother, Speaker and the Founder & CEO of AttaBoy! Solutions. Her goal is to help businesses increase sales, generate ongoing referrals, strengthen relationships and create loyal customers and employees through appreciation marketing. Throughout this blog you can sign up for updates, news, special offers, discounts and more. So take a look around, leave a comment or two and enjoy.

Contact Sally