Promotional Products A Perfect Marketing Strategy For Start-Ups

This is my confession. I have to be honest with you. I always thought promotional products was a waste of marketing resources. Until I started my own business and everything changed!

I am a former marketing director and executive who frowned on the whole world of merchandise and promotional products.

In 2008 I was laid off due to budget cuts – business reality of the new millennium, right? – I started my own business selling software in the pharmaceutical field. It was an eye opener and for the first time I was confronted with trying to find out what marketing activity, strategy and materials really work to win over clients and new business.

Anyone who starts up a business knows, that when you start your own business you have to do everything yourself:

you answer the phone, make the copies, run the books, build and maintain the website, file taxes, write reports, set pricing, clean the office – and somewhere in this 24-hour a day operation you have to do what matters – make customer calls and make a good impression.

I started showing up at meetings armed to my teeth with sales arguments, spiffy presentations and well-rehearsed for price-discussions. Over 4 weeks I made 100 sales calls. I did not close one sale. And with every meeting, I had this weird feeling that the customers considered me “cold”. Myself, I just felt business focused.

I had been a marketing executive for so long, that I had forgotten it takes more to close a sale than just talk.

Then it hit me when I was surfing the web for ideas and stumbled upon promotional products – I can’t just show up at meetings empty handed. I have to go back to the roots of building business the right way: building a relationship. And that’s what it’s all about.

Here i’ve been calling this poor secretary for weeks to get my foot in the door – the least I can do is bring her some sort of promotional product. And get my name out there at the same time.

And how about the poor chap i’m boring with my sales talk? Could I improve my odds and his mood with a great promotional gift?

And that was all it took. I was happy to find that the world of promotional products has so much to offer at competitive prices. I spent a fraction of what I would spend on expensive brochures and a 30-second tv-commercial filmed in some studio.

2 days later a box of travel mugs with handles, personalized shot glasses, beer bottle openers, t-shirts and hats stood at the door step of my office. Delivery was so fast.

Armed with promotional products and a new attitude I spent the next month calling on prospect customers. I was determined not just to close the business, but build relationships with the people that I met.

After only 5 days on the road, I had signed my first client to the company. It turned out that the client was a big fan of Mexican food and I brought in these awesome personalized margarita glasses (hint: the secretary had told me on the phone that her boss was a big fan of spicy tacos – I took note!)

not only was this promotional gift a perfect gift – for about 20 bucks, me and the client started of a great discussion that led to a great dinner. 1 year later, he’s a friend, and represents 30% of the turnover of my little business.

And it started over a margarita poured in a personalized margarita glass.

I will never frown on promotional products again!