Have you ever wondered if those gifts you have been giving your clients at closing or shortly thereafter ever made an impact?

Like you, I have given every gift you can imagine - gift certificates for dinner, home books, hand blown-glass art, golf packages, you name it. Sometimes the responses were very enthusiastic, but most of the time the clients would say “Oh, this is so thoughtful, we didn’t expect this, you shouldn’t have”. I often wondered whether my hard earned money was just being thrown out the window and being wasted on these gifts.

But what does the client think? We asked a group of purchasers if they had received a gift from their real estate agent. They responded as follows: 6% said yes, 94% said no. Of the 94% that did not receive a gift, an astonishing 84% of them said that it would have been a nice gesture to receive a gift and/or "thank you" shortly after closing. I didn’t realize the importance to the client. What came across loud and clear with the 84% that did not receive a gift, was not that they were disappointed in not receiving a gift; they were mostly disappointed in the way they were treated once the transaction was complete.

Their number one complaint was that the steady stream of communication that they had received from pending to closing had abruptly ended. Although they realized that they would not be in such regular contact with the real estate agent once the transaction was complete, they didn’t expect the sudden disappearance of the agent.

What was most evident from this group was their desire to have at least received a "thank you" call or "thank you" note. When asked about the gift specifically, the 84% that did not receive a gift unanimously agreed that it would have been a welcome and nice gesture and a nice way to complete the transaction with the agent.

Of the 6% that did receive a gift, they responded that they felt the gift was a polite gesture and something that they would remember. When asked if the gift would be a deciding factor in referring that agent, the answer was no, but what came across loud and clear with the 84% that did not receive a gift and/or thank you was that they wondered how well the agent would serve anyone that they referred if the agent couldn’t even be bothered to pick up the phone and give them a call or send them a simple hand-written note.

When I asked the entire group what kind of gifts they would want from their real estate agent, here are some of their favorite choices:

1. A high quality binder for real estate-related information

2. Dinner certificates

3. Gift certificates to Home Depot

4. Art or a small ornament of some kind

5. Anything to do with golf

6. Gift certificates to events that would include their children

Your clients want your time and attention. Giving gifts is just another way to say "thank you" for their business. It makes them feel that they are appreciated and that their business is important to you.

The dollar value of the gift isn't important, it is the gesture that counts. Thank your customers for continuing to use you and most importantly make them feel that they are an important part of your business and that they are truly appreciated.