As 2006 nears its end, advisors start thinking about how to use the holiday season to send the right message to their key clients.

But, first, you have to decide how much you want to spend to send that message. No two advisors will pick the same amount, and there is no one right amount. But you do need to start with a number.

Once you have that number, the most important consideration in how you spend that money comes down to two words: stand out. In today’s world, cluttered with communications, it’s hard to get your message across — and it’s harder still if your message looks like all the others that clients receive.

Standing out means no Christmas cards — at least, no ordinary cards. If they are going to be noticed and send a positive signal, Christmas cards have to be truly unique. Otherwise, don’t waste your money on Christmas cards.

If you’re going to send gifts, the same principle applies. If you send clients run-of-the-mill presents that can get lost in the flurry of Christmas gift-giving, you run the risk of getting lost in the shuffle.

So, how do you get around this problem?

On the principle of “go big or go home,” you can concentrate your gift-giving. Select a smaller number of clients — your most important — to receive gifts that will stand out.

Your top five or 10 clients may not recall getting a box of ordinary chocolates, but a box of Godiva chocolates is certain to be remembered. Clients may not pay much attention when you give a regular bottle of wine, but no one will forget receiving a bottle of Dom Perignon with which to celebrate New Years’ Eve. Accompany it with a note that reads: “A small thank you for being one of my very best clients.”

Or you can invest the time to select unusual gifts. One advisor attends the craft show in her community each November with the explicit purpose of finding something special for her most important clients.

Another strategy is to select a theme that you repeat year after year so that it becomes your calling card, or “signature.” One advisor sends each top client an expensive Christmas tree ornament. After a couple of years, clients have come to expect this of him and look forward to receiving it. And every time guests comment on the ornaments, the clients are reminded of him.

Or stand out by taking the time to deliver gifts in person. One advisor calls each top client in early December to see if they’re at home. Then he drops by with a wreath for the front door, the “signature” Christmas gift for which he is known among his best clients.

I fully recognize that delivering gifts personally is easier to do in small and mid-sized communities than in large urban centres, in which clients tend to be widely dispersed. That said, let me make two comments.

First, just because you can’t deliver gifts personally to all of your clients doesn’t mean that you can’t deliver them in person to some of your clients. And, second, the very fact that you’ve gone out of your way to deliver the gift increases the impact of the effort.

One advisor who does this reports that he can’t count on making more than two deliveries in an evening because clients insist that he come in for coffee, cookies and other refreshments. He feels the hospitality he enjoys in his top clients’ homes each December strengthens his bonds with those clients.

An alternative to Christmas gifts is to make a contribution to charity; then send your clients a letter with holiday wishes, letting them know that you’ve done this in lieu of cards and gifts.

Some advisors use their gift-giving budgets to sponsor children, through organizations such as Foster Children Canada. Each Christmas, they bring their clients up to date on how their “child” is doing.

Or you can make an individual contribution on a client’s behalf. World Vision, for example, has an online catalogue. For as little as $30, you can donate a pair of ducks to a Third World family on behalf of one of your clients — and in a year’s time, those ducks will have turned into a whole flock, producing eggs that generate cash at local markets. Clients will remember this gift long after they have forgotten a book or CD on which you spent the same amount.

@page_break@My personal favourite is the Amani Children’s Home in Tanzania, which I happened upon in 2004 while trekking up Mount Kilimanjaro. With a contribution of $150, top clients get a letter of thanks from the home, telling them that I have made the gift on their behalf. The letter explains how the gift pays for school tuition, supplies and a uniform for an African orphan for a full year. All for $150! Clients also get a handwritten note of thanks and often a drawing from the child who has been supported. The response from my clients far exceeds any acknowledgement I have ever gotten to cards and gifts in the past.

Or consider Sleeping Children Around the World, operated entirely by volunteers from Rotary clubs around the world. For the amazingly low price of $35, they will deliver a sleeping bag, clothes and school supplies to a child in India, the Philippines or Africa. A few months later, you’ll get a photo of the smiling recipient holding a sign with your client’s name on it as the contributor.

There are many ways to send the right message with your Christmas contributions to charity. One advisor contributes $100 to the favourite charity of each of his top 25 clients. He sends each client a note, telling him or her that he’s done this as way to express his gratitude to the client.

Another advisor has a variation on this theme. He sends each top client a letter at the beginning of November conveying his appreciation for the opportunity he has had to work with that client over the past year. As his thank-you gesture, he offers to match the client’s contribution to his or her favourite charity, in any amount up to $100. Each letter includes a large postage-paid return envelope; all the client has to do is send him a cheque and an envelope with the charity’s address. He adds his own cheque and puts the envelope in the mail.

Both advisors have had overwhelmingly positive responses to these initiatives from their top clients. These advisors further leverage this by sending a note to the rest of their clients with a list of the charities to which contributions have been made, letting clients know that the advisor is supporting these charities as his Christmas thank you.

When it comes to holiday gift-giving, there are two things to remember. First, the reason these gifts gather a positive response is because they stand out in the clutter of holiday communications. To be effective, you have to do the same.

Second, the price you pay for standing out is that clients expect you to continue this practice. Once you’ve started down this road, clients will notice if you stop. IE



Dan Richards is president of Strategic Imperatives Ltd. He can be reached at richards@getkeepclients.com. For other columns in this series, go to www.investmentexecutive.com.