I’m not Italian, but sometimes I wish I was.
I’ve traveled to Italy 🇮🇹 three times, and I’ll definitely go back again. It’s astonishingly beautiful, with architecture, art, and history that is mind-boggling compared to North America’s relative newness.
But what I love the most about Italy are the Italians. They know how to live.
For example, they take great pleasure in preparing a meal and sharing it with family and friends. Every meal is an event for them. Time spent together with loved ones is the most important part of their day.
I’ve been lucky enough to experience this first-hand, several times, and I’m grateful for it. Just writing this makes me yearn to return to Italy.
——————–
I’m also a fan of old movies. There’s a scene in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ (1946 – Jimmy Stewart), where the Italian family is taking possession of their new home. They’re given a traditional Italian housewarming gift of bread, salt, and wine.
“Bread, so your home will never know hunger, salt, so life will always have flavor and wine for joy and prosperity.”
This scene inspired me to do something similar for my buyer clients. First, I stocked up on the following items, bought in bulk at wholesale (40%-50% off), which was surprisingly easy:
- Hand-made cutting boards
- Name-brand stainless-steel bread knives
- Flavor-infused sea salts
I also bought several cases of wine at once and negotiated a deep discount. 🍷
My office was always stocked up, so there was never any scrambling at the last minute to buy a gift for possession day.
On the morning of a possession, I would stop by my favorite bakery and pick up a freshly baked loaf of their crusty sourdough bread.
Then I’d assemble whatever I was going to give the client, depending on the circumstances. For example, if it was an inexpensive condo, it might be a loaf of bread, a simple cutting board, a few different salts, and one bottle of wine.
For an expensive home, it might be the loaf of bread, a fancy cutting board, the bread knife, several packages of salts, and 3-4 exceptional bottles of wine.
I’d arrive at the home a few minutes early and assemble everything on the counter, along with a hand-written note.
When they got there, I’d make the presentation, explaining that it’s a traditional Italian house-warming gift:
“Bread, so your home will never know hunger, salt, so life will always have flavor and wine for joy and prosperity.”
I can’t even remember how many of my clients burst into tears when I did this. And I’ll never forget the giant bear-hug I got from Mike, a 300-pound ex-linebacker.
Was it memorable?
Hey, paisano. You better believe it. 🤌
——————–
The purpose of this story is not to suggest you copy my idea. It’s this:
You need to put some real thought into the gifts that you give your clients.
Not just house-warming gifts, but also other gifts to show appreciation for a referral, for example.
Whenever I saw something cool at a craft show, or when I was traveling, I would “stock up” on those items, so I always had an inventory of unique gifts in my office. 🎁
You don’t have to spend a lot of money. It truly is the thought that counts.
And when it’s something of real value (like a hand-made cutting board or a high-quality stainless-steel knife), that’s something they’ll keep forever, and they’ll never forget where it came from.
You may never see them again, but those happy clients could be a referral source for you for the next ten years.
Never forget: You’re in a relationship-based business. Every little thing you do to nurture your relationships is important.
——————-
One last thing: Please do NOT under ANY circumstances attach your name to any gift you give a client. It cheapens it.
Imagine if you worked for 50 years and were given a gold watch at your retirement party, and your boss wrote his name and phone number on the back of it, so you’d never forget who gave it to you. If it were me, I’d bring it home and throw it in the garbage.
Ask yourself a simple question: Is it a gift of gratitude, or is it cheap advertising? It CAN’T be both.
——————–
This article was inspired by module #8 – Generating Referrals – part of the Agent Skills Master’s Program.
Within this module, you’ll learn all about how to develop a business with a never-ending stream of incoming referrals. Here’s the thing: You don’t get referrals by asking. You get them by deserving. When you do the right things, you don’t need to ask.
If you’re not ready to make a giant leap forward in your career, you could learn a tiny bit more about Generating Referrals here: The $100,000 Commission
