I believe that before you spend money on client gifts, you need to make sure that the gift is practical, personal, and memorable. You want your clients to really appreciate the gift, keep the gift, and remember the Unicorn Agent that gave them the gift!

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I’m sharing one of my most-loved client gifts (and exactly how you can make it happen for your clients). These are amazing conversation starters on Thanksgiving when everyone is pitching in and helping cook the big ol’ feast. Market yourself to clients’ families and friends every time they say “Sweet mitt! Where’d you get that?!” 🦄

Heads up: When I say “client gift”, I am talking about something more than a traditional pop by. Client gifts are more expensive, and I would only give client gifts to clients who I had worked with in the past year. Once clients are out of the one-year mark, they can start to receive some of the smaller pop-by fun!

Oven Mitts

Why oven mitts? Well because they are so practical! Clients won’t just be using them on Thanksgiving, they’ll use them every time they take something out of the oven! The key here is to make them reflect the client and their interest. Instead of giving a branded oven mitt out, splurge (for like $15/each) on each client to give them something they would truly want. This way, they DO use it. They DO show it off. The DO love it.

Here are some examples of ones I have given to clients and I’ll say it again. They are SO LOVED by clients. I found all of these on Amazon by searching “funny oven mitts”. I thought about each client and found one that I knew they would love. This is where the power of connections and relationships come in – a gift like this is most magical when you really get to know someone and know their interests and personality.

You can search for fun oven mitts on Etsy here.

You can search for pretty oven mitts on Etsy here.

You can search for fun oven mitts on Amazon here.

Cards and Envelopes

I like this silly pun (if that’s what it is), or you can go away from the silliness and just give them a nice thanks for being your client. It’s whatever your style is! I like creating a fun design on Canva and then printing at my brokerage. If I save money on the card, I can spend more money on matching envelopes (and it’s all about the immersive client experience for me!).

You can edit our Thanksgiving card Canva design (pictured above) here.

You can purchase matching orange envelopes here.

Wrapping Paper

This is where you can stay on brand. I recommend wrapping these oven mitts instead of putting them in gift bags. Unwrapping a gift sparks the type of joy that only came from being a six-year-old at your birthday party in the basement of the local Pizza Hut (anyone else remember when Pizza Huts had accessible basements with party rooms? Or was that just a weird thing in Indiana? Fun fact: I lived in Indiana until I was six).

Whatever colors you use in your branding, find wrapping paper that fits that vibe! It would be cool if you always wrapped gifts in the same wrapping paper because it would become a thing your brand does. Someone would see the wrapping and instantly think of you. And once you create a reputation for giving out the coolest gifts (which will happen when you give clients a personal oven mitt), people will feel SO HAPPY to be your clients. And what does that happiness turn into? Referrals!!!

Here’s me before I went out to deliver my oven mitts to my 2020 clients! This wrapping perfectly captured my real estate brand and I was really proud and excited to hand these out – can you tell??

Of course, the magic to this gift – or any other gift – is the connection behind the gift. It is imperative that you develop authentic relationships with your clients in order for these personalized gifts to be true heart-bombs that turn into lots and lots of referrals (and repeat business from clients!).

If you’re reading this and thinking, “shoot well I’m just getting to know my clients so this won’t work”, don’t fret! If you are actively trying to create relationships – meaning you genuinely care about your clients and their wellbeing in the transactions – then giving an authentic gift like a personally-picked oven mitt will have a big impact on that relationship development. It’s the thought and care behind the gift.

When I say that relationships are imperative, I’m just saying that if you don’t give a shoot about your clients, and then you try to give them a cool gift…it’s not gonna hit the same way. Care about your clients to have the biggest impact.

Wait – why am I even warning you about that? You’re a Unicorn Agent – you got the care part down 💕

Happy gifting! Muah!

XOXO,
Sarah