Many Business Associates have become close friends – we spend so much of our time with our Business Associates. We get to know about their lives away from work and about their families. One tradition I noted was to take photos of each team or of groups of people who attend the event together. To go one step further, why not deliver these photos in person? And how about adding a Promotional gift of some sort? Deliver your gifts to your Associates while also stopping by. This could be a very simple and enjoyable marketing opportunity. Your Associates will always have a reminder of this entertaining event, and of YOU!

Time seems to go so fast. It’s the personal touch that simply disappears when we run short of time. But that personal touch is what builds a solid business relationship, a solid relationship. Relationship is the answer in building solid business partnerships.

“You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do.” Henry Ford

Promotional gifts like: bookends, wine chillers and clocks, can all be made with beautiful green or black marble, which not only looks great when carved with a company logo but enhance the atmosphere of any office.  You can also get picture frames, candles and chests as gifts for retirements, milestones, or achievements.  All these items can be proudly displayed in any office, and with a company logo, it will always be associated with the company.

Here are some reasons companies exceed the $25 gift tax limitation.

While low price items work well for high volume general distribution, there are special occasions and important recipients where it is advantageous to give higher quality promotional items.

• Express your appreciation to a customer with a personalized promotional gift for a large sale. We have realtors who give personalized glassware to their customers upon completion of a sale. They spend $50-$100 for a set of glassware either with their logo engraved or the couple’s initials engraved. A small price to pay from your commissions on high ticket sales.
• Employee appreciation. It is well documented that employee’s are not impressed with the less expensive appreciation or recognition gifts. You can personalize with their names or initials if it fits the occasion.
• Some companies give out more expensive gifts as a matter of policy to reflect the companies stature. Zebco, the fishing reel people, give out glassware with a bass image. There logo isn’t even on the item. I will bet the people who received it will remember who gave it to them. Northstar Auto Auction gives out crystal desktop items with their customers monogram or names engraved without a logo. These auto dealers remember where it came from. Some even come to us for their promotional gift needs.
• Grand openings are not the time to give out a 55 cent pen, especially if you have invited local business people to attend and you want them to spend money for your products. Give them a promotional desktop item that puts your company name in front of them every day.
• Board of Directors and senior executives are often given promotional gifts with the company logo plus their names or initials. Your logo is on display to everyone they meet.
• Key sales persons can use a leather portfolio or briefcase with the company logo debossed. It reflects well on both the sales person as well as the company. We have a Boston customer who gives a top quality leather briefcase to each of their key sales people.
• While recognizing achievements usually falls in the realm of awards, plaques and trophies, there are occasions where various promotional products work better. Promotional gifts, for team members who completed an important project on time, will work better more often than an award or plaque.
• Business meeting attendees often are given a portfolio with the company logo. Better yet is a high quality desk nameplate that serves to identify the attendees at the meeting as well as use on their desk at the office.

We have been serving the unique, upscale promotional market for several years as our primary emphasis. Of course we can provide the lower ticket promotional items, but many people come to us for the custom engraving to fit the occasion. It takes a little more work to set up and you don’t get the full IRS deduction but the payoff is there when someone sees the results.

From the list above you can see that the word of mouth potential is better than the lower ticket promotional items. Your customers, executives and employees won’t brag about where they got the koozie with your logo on it.

There are many more situations where upscale promotional gift giving is more effective than the traditional mass produced promotional items. These are just a few that came off the top of my head. We could list hundreds of examples.

Hope this helps give you some ideas.

Thanks,
Ken

Neither is gift wrapping, artwork, setup, insuring, mailing, packaging! These costs are fully deductible as “Incidental Costs”.

Neither is the limit applicable if the gift is intended for use by enough people within a department to cover the $25 per recipient. Therefore, you can spend $100 for a thank you gift to the customer service department which has 4 people.

There is nothing to prevent spending more than $25 on a business gift as long as you only claim the $25 per person per year as a deductible expense.

The IRS $25 limit is applied per person per year.

Some larger companies have limits on gift sizes to individuals within the company. This policy is usually applied to prevent influencing buying decisions.

For more information, see the IRS Publication 463.

Some of our items include the cost of set up, engraving, imprinting, etc. Let us know if you need an itemized invoice breakdown for your tax records or ask for the breakdown from other suppliers you may use.