Standing out from the noise has become more and more difficult as sales automation tools have become more prevalent. Your prospects email boxes are flooded. Cold calling is always a hit or miss with fewer people picking up an unknown call.
Many teams have found success in incorporating direct mail to gain the attention of their prospects and increase reply rates. Having a gift or swag box show up on your prospects desk is a great, unexpected way to create a connection. However this has become more difficult when teams are distributed and working remotely.
While the element of surprise might be more difficult. Here are some tips on how to send swag to your prospects when they might not be in office:
Ask prospects to confirm their shipping address.
Seems simple, right? But it can be a lot of work to track individual addresses and coordinate shipping of swag to prospects. Swag.com’s giveaway feature allows you to send individual links to your prospects. Our giveaway links allow them to choose an item from your inventory and enter shipping details. We handle the rest (except closing the deal, that is still on you).
You might be saying to yourself now, that’s great, but how do I get them to open the email and choose a gift.
- Mention the Giveaway in Email Subject Line
You know your audience best, but experimenting with different subject lines to let the prospect know that you are giving a gift can help determine what results in the best results. Then include the link to the form or giveaway to collect their address.
- Tie the Giveaway to another piece of content or campaign
Send something in an email that is has been successful in the past, but add the benefit of receiving a gift. Whether it’s a written piece of content, like a white paper or ebook, or a virtual event, webinar or video including a note saying you’d like to send a direct mail follow-up or gift can be successful way to get their address
- Send a Linkedin Message instead!
Reaching out via LinkedIn Messanger or Inmail with some ‘virtual’ swag can also be an effective way to break through the email noise (or promotions folder). Let them know in the message you are trying to send them a swag gift and that you only have their office mailing address and wanted to confirm the best place to ship their gift. This might not be the best option for a completely new or cold lead, but a great way to connect with older leads or ones that have gone dark.
What Swag to Send?
Sending the right swag is crucial to making the right impression. Here are a few general rules:
- Quality matters – Don’t send something cheap. It will end up in the trash and might leave a negative impression.
- Make it something useful and create positive feelings – The more they use they gift, the more they will think of your brand. If it is something they really enjoy using (or always wanted) even better.
- Tie your swag into your messaging and brand – This is your chance to be creative, send something fun that drives home a theme or something catchy
- Avoid heavy, fragile or large items – Fragile items require careful packing, which can take away the unboxing experience. Or, even worse, a fragile item could break in shipping. Receiving a broken glass, not the experience you are going for. Heavy or large items will be expensive to ship, so unless you have an endless budget, maybe stay away from the custom bowling balls 🙂
Direct mail is still a great option for your prospecting or to help a sale move through the funnel, so don’t let the challenges of remote workers stop you. If you want to learn more about how swag.com can help. Visit our Swag Distribution page or contact us to set up a quick demo of our one-stop swag solution.
