Taking a client or prospect out to dinner is pretty standard business.  If you want to grow business, you need to wine and dine clients, right?  Nothing radical about that concept.

How could anyone poke holes in this centuries old business practice?  Well, a friend of mine recently challenged me on this and asked me a question that I hadn’t really considered and based upon my experience, most in business haven’t considered either.

His question was simple: Why do most companies take their clients out to expensive dinners or rounds of golf that cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars and then when it comes time to send them a gift, those same executives get wigged out over a gift that costs a couple hundred dollars?

He went on to explain that the meal is consumable and gone the same day, and although there is a memory created, most clients have that same experience with dozens of vendors each year and the memory fades quickly. Why is your dining or social experience any better than the next guy? Doesn’t it make sense to instead surprise your best clients with a gift that is best in class, practical, unique and that every time they use it they think of you for decades after?

I was stunned by the simplicity of the concept and it dawned on me that he may be on to something. We as business owners have been programmed to do the same things our competition is doing and think we are making an impact or truly deepening a relationship for the long term. We take people out to a nice three hour dinner with great food and drink or spend hundreds of dollars on a five hour round of golf, only to leave the client without a tangible and physical memory point to be reminded of our relationship.

At best we leave them with some promotional trinket from China. I decided to test his line of thinking and ordered 15 of his best-selling gifts which was from his exclusive Cutco cutlery line. Many of you are likely familiar with the brand as it’s the Rolex and Tiffany of cutlery but what most don’t know is that this friend of mine, John Ruhlin, invented their corporate engraving business and has built a much of his strategic gifting company around this one product. He is also the guy that gave me the unbelievable Brooks Brothers experience that I wrote about last year. Very inspiring and worth a read as well.

John’s team had each of the two piece cutlery gift sets custom engraved into the steel blade my logo and each client’s name (gotta love personalization!) along with a handwritten note to each person. The cost was a couple hundred dollars a gift all in. They were sent in February so the client was not expecting anything and the basic premise was to thank them for “carving out room” for us to work together. The gifts were mailed off and I waited anxiously to see if I would get a response or if people would be too busy to even mention the gesture. It did not take long and the response was beyond my already high expectations!!

My clients loved not just the product (the brand of Cutco carried some nice weight) but went on and on about the handwritten note and the fact that a high end product like Cutco was custom engraved with their name on it. They felt special and their spouses also loved being included for once in an business appreciation experience. Big brownie points for me with the spouse…huge! The cool thing I realized is that unlike the dining experience that wears off in the weeks following, with a special gift like this, for the next 10-20 years my most cherished business relationships will be reminded of me a couple times a week and the fact that I took the time to say thank you in a special way. It will be with them when they host clients and friends at their home for business functions and for holidays for decades to come. While there is nothing wrong with social experiences, that cannot be said for the dinners I have had or the golf rounds I have played. Like most of the powerful concepts in business, giving a special gift like this is not rocket science but most of us are too caught up in email or the next deal to take a few minutes to think strategically about how we are going to leverage and impact our most important relationships.

When interviewing job candidates, use what I call ‘The Reverse Sell.’

It involves being in a position of power throughout the interview and getting the candidate to sell themselves on the company and also on their skills in handling the job. When the interview is over, if the candidate is more excited than ever and really knows they can do the job and that you’ve raked them over the coals and might not offer them, then you’ve done your job.

Ensure any fears the candidate has are addressed during the interview.  Don’t handle them as they come up – instead, jot down their concerns or fears until later in the interview for just the right moment. This ensures you will handle them so the candidate isn’t worried about them and sees a few reasons within your system to minimize them.  “So, about an hour ago you asked about…”

Reverse selling occurs by emphasizing how hard a position will be and getting the candidate to sell you on why he or she is right for the job.

In addition, ‘reverse selling’ also occurs by stating the concerns you might have about a candidate’s weaknesses. For example, you might say, “It appears your computer skills are very poor and will hurt you. Can you address that with me?”

And all of your questions should be asked by the end of the interview. Leave no stone unturned.

Regardless of what department you’re hiring for, if someone can’t passionately sell themselves to you on why they’re what you’re looking for, walk away.  You’re doing them a disservice if you hire them.

By the way, this works in franchising too – don’t sell franchises, award them to qualified candidates who really sell you on their skills.

While all of your competitors complain about the economy, and spend their time reading every article that confirms their fears, go in the opposite direction.

When companies start laying people off, the great employees fear for their jobs. If you’re hiring salespeople when everyone is laying them off, the positive buzz that you’re still hiring will start to spread – even to customers.

What’s even better? Imagine if you hired one of your competitor’s best salespeople–what would happen then? It would impact both of your companies in precisely the way you want to in a competitive world.

I know it seems odd that while in the middle of a recession you’d want to hire more people, but the people you are hiring are the rainmakers.  You’re hiring people to increase sales, add money to your gross margin, and increase buzz about your company and brands.

pic Search Engine Genie

Look at this massive BMW ad right over top of an Audi dealership in Hong Kong

During recessions, consumers are extremely cost and service conscious.  Customers will switch from your competitors right now for the smallest discounts or friendly nod in their direction.

You can’t go so far as predatory pricing, but in a slowdown, virtually everyone is looking to save a buck.  So target your competitors’ customers and start offering them what it takes to get them to move to you.

Cable and phone companies do this ALL the time, so don’t think this is something new.

Go ahead – steal them away.

pic Jalopnik

Eighty percent of your results come from twenty percent of your clients – as a business coach, I always advise CEO’s to at least fire the bottom twenty percent of your clients (they’re sucking up eighty percent of your time).

Feels odd to be thinking about getting rid of some of your revenues at any time, let alone during an economic downturn, but these clients likely generate very little revenue, and perhaps even cost you money.  So get rid of them.

Your bottom 20% also take up more of your time and energy too.

When cutting these bottom twenty percent clients, you can also eliminate some of the waste or overhead you have in supporting them.  You’ll free up time in all areas of your business especially shipping, customer service and accounting.  You’ll save time in your sales meetings by not talking about these clients.

Fire the bottom twenty percent: clients who take up time, suck up energy or don’t pay their bills. You’ll free up more time for your profitable clients and get more business from new, better ones.

Who would you rather spend time with?  Your Top 5% or your Bottom 20%?  Where are you spending it now?