April 24, 2023 • 41 mins
In this episode Misty discusses how gifting can help solidify relationships in business. She is joined by Jennifer O'Hare owner of Belle Box Co. to discuss ways you can use gift-giving to make a lasting impression on your clients and network.
Where to find Bri White
Website: belleboxco.com
Instagram: instagram.com/belleboxco
Facebook: facebook.com/Belleboxco
Where to find Misty
Website:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/mistylynchcfp
Where to find Bri White
Website: belleboxco.com
Instagram: instagram.com/belleboxco
Facebook: facebook.com/Belleboxco
Where to find Misty
Website:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/mistylynchcfp
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:09):
Hey there, thank you so muchfor joining me today for this episode of
Demystifying Money. I'm miss Lynch,and today I want to talk about gifts
and particularly using gift giving strategically inyour business. I know it is you
know, Spring, so most ofus, you know, focus Q four
(00:31):
about holiday gifts. But I wasthinking about gifts in general and how because
well I did. I did somebusiness with a small business owner locally recently,
um and out of the blue,I received this beautiful gift. It
(00:53):
was it was a box and ithad a few different items inside it.
It was just very, very beautifuland it was so nice. It was
so unexpected. It was like inJanuary or February, and it made me
think about that impact on a businessrelationship, Like when you receive something tangible
(01:19):
that you can hold, that youcan look at, that you could repurpose
or use or share, it doeshave a certain impact on that connection.
It solidifies that like if anybody islooking for this particular service in the future,
it would be pretty tough for menot to recommend or think about,
(01:42):
you know, this person that I'veinteracted with, and I think that there's
there's a way that we can incorporate, not even just like expensive gifts,
like anything like handwritten notes, randomgifts, certain things throughout the year,
or something intentionally when maybe someone providesa referral or somebody does something that goes
(02:07):
out of their way to help you, or you're bringing on a new client,
and maybe you're in a business likea coach where you don't really have
a tangible product where someone can say, Okay, I would like to buy
a car. I go get thecar, I drive away with the car.
I could see it, I couldtouch it, I could use it.
Where it's like more Okay, we'regonna work on your mindset, or
(02:28):
we're gonna work on you know,when I'm doing financial planning investment advice with
people like some of it is moreabstract, and I think there is something
to it. So I wanted totalk to an expert, and so I
reached out to the Jennifer O'Hare she'sthe owner of Bellbox Co. Because as
soon as I got this gift,I immediately went to social media to share
(02:51):
the picture of this gift the personwho gave it to me and tagged them
in everything because it was just sucha nice surprise. Now this is a
great this is a business opportunity.So I wanted to talk to Jennifer about
how we can incorporate gifting into ourmarketing and our business because a lot of
times we see that as like anafterthought, a Q fourth thing, maybe
(03:14):
in expense, but I think it'sit's so much more. And you know
some people, some people there lovelanguage is gifts, giving them or receiving
them. I know my mom inparticular, she's somebody who loves she gives
gifts. She bakes for people allthe time. She always remembers to send
a card for pretty much anybody she'sever met's birthday, And like if you
(03:38):
told her, like if I tellher, like please don't get the kids
any gifts this year, or don'tget anything for me this year, even
if she has no money to spend, it's basically like a slap in the
face to tell her not to givea gift, because it makes her feel
connected, it makes her feel happy. She gets a lot from that.
So if that sounds like you,or it's something that you felt that impact
(04:00):
when somebody has given you a gift, or you feel really good when you're
able to give, I think you'lllike today's episode, Jennifer shares a lot
of tips and it's so smart andif you're a local business, I think,
I think it can be really interestingto think about this this channel not
just as an expense, but asan investment. Welcome to the Demystifying Money
(04:21):
podcast, where each week you willhear unforgettable conversations with expert guests about success,
money, business, and small stepsyou can take to elevate your life
and wealth. Now here's your host, Missy Lynch. Hey everyone, thank
you so much for joining me forthis episode of Demystifying Money. I am
excited to be joined by my friendJennifer O'Hare. She is the owner of
(04:44):
Belle boxc and she specializes in giftingand I think this is such an important
piece of basically being a business ownerthat sometimes gets you know, ignored or
only thought of during Q four andscrambled where I think this could be such
a great way to improve your clientrelationships, your referral relationships, all of
(05:05):
those things that are super important toa small business, and it should be
something that we think about all yearlong. So thank you so much Jennifer
for joining me today. Thank you, Missy for having me So tell me
a little bit more about your company. How long have you been in business
and what kind of got you interestedin this business in the first place.
(05:25):
Yeah. So we've been in businessfor about a year and a half.
We're located in Watertown, but wedo ship nationally. And what got me
interested is just kind of a funnystory, right, the backstory to how
it all happened. But I amjust in general, I'm not only a
business owner. I'm a mom ofthree, busy mom of three. So
(05:47):
when I am not assembling gifts orgiving presentations or podcast interviews, I'm carting
three kids all over Massachusetts for variousactivities. But I started Bellbox during the
pandemic as a way to kind ofnurture and show up for my existing relationships,
whether that be with family, friendsand neighbors, or even co workers.
(06:08):
We were everybody was so isolated indistant so but really, I spent
fourteen years as a senior merchant fora leading off price retailer here in Massachusetts,
and at the time we were allhome, I was homeschooling, I
was working from home, trying tokeep my sanity all the things like most
other people, and I would createor curate little gifts to send to people
(06:31):
for their birthdays and anniversaries or justbecause we were stuck at home, you
know, trying to like keep everybody'slevel of hope alive, everybody's level of
joy alive. And it was thatelement of surprise and delight that like totally
stood out for me, The emotionalreaction when people like received an unexpected gift
(06:55):
and at that time you have toimagine it was like on their doorsteps,
so that was even better, andthat that gift was tailored to them right
in what they valued. It wasjust to me, it was just so
satisfying. It was an amazing wayfor me to kind of give back and
extend my expertise, which was youknow, curating assortments and brand discovery.
(07:19):
So given my background and all thetime I had on my hands, I
put a ton of effort into thepresentation as well of those gifts, right,
it was super important that they werepresented in an elevated way. And
then soon I just began getting requestsfor larger bulk orders, I would say,
(07:42):
And so like the first one wasa local influencer reached out to me.
Now I was in some Facebook groupsand again a little bit like looking
for some connection even from outside ofmy existing relationships, just connection with other
mothers in the area, with otherworking professionals in the area. So Facebook
is kind of where I hung out, pop some photos up in some groups,
(08:07):
and before I knew it, Ihad some people reaching out and you
know, loving what I was doing. Oh do you do these? You
know, on a larger scale.So I did a local influencer reached out
and I did her bridal party gifts, and then after that, I did
a larger order for a virtual babyshower, so everyone was stuck at home.
(08:28):
Guests could not attend, so theyhad to be with the mom to
be on video. So we weresending little kits so that they were able
to celebrate with the mom to beon video. So that was really the
second one. And just after that, I was like, this is this
is really what people need and wantme for and other people are struggling and
(08:50):
challenged by keeping those connections alive andstrengthening those relationships. So I knew it
had to be something where I knewI could directly support that um, which
felt really good. So that's kindof how it all began. Did you
did you M. Did you leaveyour job right away or when you started
your business? How did you youknow when did you decide to start to
(09:13):
do this full time? UM?And how did that feels? Yeah,
exactly, that's a great UM question. So I did not leave right away.
UM. Once I decided to reallymake it a business. I took
my time to develop my branding,to develop my messaging M to really hone
(09:33):
in on the values of my company, what I wanted to stand for UM.
And I'm glad I did that rightand they still are constantly shifting,
right, but my values will alwaysstay the same, and the value of
the company and the the level ofsupport and customer service that I want to
deliver will always be there. Sobecause I took that time to nail nail
(09:54):
that down, UM, I feltreally I would say completely confident, but
I felt really energized and excited tolaunch this business into the world. So
I quit my job in I leftmy full time job in June of twenty
twenty one, and then I launchedin October of twenty twenty one. Yeah.
(10:20):
So that's I think it's it's importantto know it because I think some
of us have these ideas and wehave them for a while, and I
think it's absolutely okay to nurture thatand to think about what do I need
to do, because sometimes having justa great idea is it's a huge part
of it, but it's not everything. And so I think that's great that
you gave yourself a little runway.You had some time to think about your
(10:43):
messaging and your branding. What aresome of the other investments that you made
into your business that you feel likewere very important to have kind of from
day one. I know as yougrow, you expand locations and things like
that, but what were some ofthe things that you felt had the biggest
impact for you somebody? Most ofyour connections on social media, right,
(11:03):
A very good question. One ofthe big investments that I made was into
a laser printer slash engraver. Andthe reason why we did that so it's
a piece of equipment, right.So the reason why we did that is
because of, like I said,the level of support and the level of
personalization I wanted to offer. SoI also invested this kind of goes simultaneously
(11:26):
you're side by side with the engraver. I invested not only time, energy
and effort plus my resources into findinga local woodworker who would help with what
would be our signature wooden white pinebox. I'm really proud of that.
You know, my background is insourcing, but it's it's not easy,
(11:48):
right, It's just like going downthe road of figuring out who's going to
manufacture your product. I wanted themto be local. I had a very
specific design in mind. I wantedthe functionality to be there and that took
a while. So with that,I knew the reason why I went down
the road of the wooden white pinebox is because I wanted to add a
level of personalization that felt very elevatedand elegant versus you know, doing everything
(12:16):
in all the personalization with paper product, we do that as well, right,
whether it's branded wraps, it's justyou know, a different take on
things. But I feel like thatmakes us stand out, I think.
And it's it's funny because I've receiveda gift from us and I worked with
Gabrielle Beauvay. She helped me dothe interior design for my office and she
(12:37):
sent me one of your gifts asI when I became a client of hers,
and the box is gorgeous. Itook all the things out and used
them and ate that. But thebox and I know this is a podcast,
but I'm gonna show you in thevideo it is like down here over
there on the foot because I hadthis whole basket of like chords that were
stuck in the wallet I can't removeand so yeah, put them all in
(12:58):
the box and out good idea.It's just it was too pretty. I
couldn't I couldn't throw it away.Yeah. Absolutely, And that's kind of
like what we stand for, right, It's a it's a key stake in
itself exactly. No, it's justeverything. And I will say that as
somebody who received one of your oneof your products, it did make an
(13:20):
impression. So tell me a littlebit more about like what what from your
perspective, because I just know howI felt. But from your perspective,
I'm sure there is more work behindit and science behind it, like what
makes a lasting impression when it comesto giving gifts. So I touched on
it a little bit, but overall, I think personalization makes a lasting impression.
(13:41):
And that can look different depending onwhat you're talking about, right,
So, whether that's the items thatyou select to include inside the gifts or
the actual personalization or even adding theirbranding, like the client that you're sent
right adding their branding or their nameto the box a handwritten note card is
(14:03):
considered personalized, right like, thatis something that not many people take the
time to do. And we havean option right on the site. Actually,
so we do specialize in custom designfor large order client appreciation, retention
and referral. However, we dohave an option right on the site where
(14:24):
you can choose a gift from ourcollection and add their logo of you know,
the client, or add your ownlogo for an employee gift by way
of engraving. And it's different,right, it stands out and that box
will never be tossed. We justtalked about it. It's truly a keepsake
in itself and most people will youknow, use it otherwise. And so
(14:46):
again you get that sustainability factor inthere, and they're always going to remember
that when they they're always going toremember you too, like when they look
at that that gift box. It'scertainly I believe, you know, I
think it's helpful. Even Two ofthe things that stood out for me.
First of all, the gift wasbeautiful. It made me want to find
out where it came from, whichis how I found you and decided to
(15:11):
invite you on to talk about yourbusiness because I just you know, that
was just something that was very cool, but I didn't expect it, yes,
at all. How much does thatimpact when you're talking with somebody who's
really trying to build a nice havethis be a part of their strategy their
business, you know, their businessplanning and marketing when they're looking at their
budget or kind of like where theywant to invest their money. And a
(15:35):
lot of small business owners like mightnot have a huge marketing budget yet,
but they may decide this as apiece of it. How how important is
that that element of timing when itcomes to being somebody who is very memorable.
I think it's so funny that yousay this, because it really is
a strategic process. I think wherewe can really help is acting as a
(15:58):
partner or an extension kind of ofyour client services team. Right, so
there is not enough focus on thedistribution or delivery strategy whatever you want to
call it, and whether that couldbe like gifting off holiday right, I
like I feel like I was onmy soapbox in November about like everybody love
that we're all gifting during Q four. It's amazing. Has anybody thought about
(16:19):
gifting in January like for the newYear? And what happened was is I
was actually very busy in January.There were a lot of people that actually
heard that message, because you willbe instead of being one of forty gifts
that someone will receive that that month, you will be maybe one of a
couple if that, and so you'rereally going to stand out there. And
(16:41):
you know, so I do believethat the distribution strategy or delivery strategy matters.
And yes, it can be downto the timing of when you're gifting.
Maybe it's other, you know,off the cuff holidays that people are
not thinking about. That's another wayto kind of stand out and make an
impression. But even down to thisis why I feel like it's more.
(17:06):
We offer so much more because it'sall of this strategic piece that people aren't
necessarily thinking about, but even downto how you are, how they are
receiving their gift, and so thatcould look like a link through a website
where they actually get to choose theirown gift. Right, we've done the
work upfront with you to kind ofpre select and curate the gift, and
(17:29):
then it's an amazing unexpected email wherethere's a link and they get to actually
choose, so it's one of twogifts or another thing that we've done,
which I love because obviously the philanthropicelement of it is you can actually choose
to donate that gift, which Ithink is an awesome option, especially if
(17:52):
having that philanthropic element is really importantto you. That's interesting because I'm sure
that there's some people that you know, love you know, I love getting
gifts. I think that it's alwayslike such a nice surprise. It makes
me super excited. But there mightbe some people that are like, I
don't want more stuff. I don'twant to, like I would rather have
(18:12):
that go to somebody else or somewhereelse. So I think that's such a
nice option because everyone is different,and I think this is something that I've
noticed, you know, as Istarted to have my own clients, whether
within the past you know, afew years, and I started gifting,
you know, sending gifts out tothem, you know, usually during the
holidays or when there was a transitionbetween when I was changing different employers,
(18:37):
and things like that to finally goingout on my own. I have two
children, busy, how all thisstuff, Like I'm networking with people and
I remember getting one message from somebodywho said, like this was the only
gift they got period, and likeshe was like, oh, it made
me cry. I was so happy, And I forget that. Like there's
everybody who's in such a different placeall the time, and so I feel
(19:00):
like there's certain like if you're ina service business or you're in like the
mindset of just wanting to like surpriseand delight your clients, like at every
opportunity, like we don't know whatkind of month that person is having or
exactly. So I feel like thereis this emotional impact that is missing.
(19:22):
Where do most business owners kind ofmiss the mark when it comes to how
this could have an impact in theirbusiness strategy versus some of the things like
likes, shares, views on socialright, most people are missing the mark
really by not having a strategy.Really at the end of the day,
(19:45):
not having a strategy when it comesto client or employee appreciation, retention referrals
right, that to me start that'snumber one, And to be fair,
most people don't know where to begin. It feels super over whelming. They
may not understand what a business likeus does right at the level that we
do it and the level of supportthat they have access to. So it's
(20:10):
more than just curating a gift.It's like I had said before, it's
a strategic process that we go throughwith our clients. So not only are
we developing the concepts that align witheither their vision, their values, right
their brand, their goals, butalso the develop developing the impactful distribution strategy
goes along with that, and thenwe execute it for them. Right then
(20:33):
it's like taking it all the waythrough, so they're not even touching the
actual gift or shipment and unless theywant to. That's another piece of it.
If they want them ship to theirhouse because they want to hand deliver,
that's huge as well. So Ido feel like most people are missing
the mark there is really the firstpart of it is not thinking ahead about
what that strategy could look like,and I do feel like it comes from
(20:56):
a place of overwhelm, and Itotally understand that there's a lot that goes
into what we do and that's reallywhere we can help. On the other
hand, having a gift that ispersonalized to that client. I think is
another place where people might be missingthe mark. Yes, do we all
(21:17):
love to put our brand slap ourbrand onto everything. Of course we do.
But there is a way to dothat in a tasteful, a tasteful
manner where maybe it's one item hasyour brand on it, but then there's
another item that may have their brandon it, or maybe it's one item
has your brand on it, andthen it's you know, you're personalizing that
gift to them with either their logalor their name, right, So I
(21:42):
feel like that piece is really missing. And then in terms of the contents
inside, you know, it's reallythink about the practicality, the usability.
What are some things that are importantto you that you know are important to
your clients. So if that's likeshopping small or shopping local, we go
through all those questions with our clientsat the beginning. What's important to you?
(22:03):
What do you think is important toyour clients? You know your audience
best, right, So if yourclients are are, if you're preaching all
the time about shopping local and findingdifferent artisans and local makers, then we're
gonna I'm gonna show you concepts thathave all local and artisan makers. We
have preferred vendors. We have noproblem reaching out and sourcing other vendors.
If you've had your eye on something, that's that's the level of support that
(22:27):
we offer. And so yeah,I feel like that was a couple of
different places where I feel like businessowners couldn't do a little better. Yeah.
No, I think that's so importantbecause it has to be like I
think it has to be an alignment, you know, like if you're saying,
like, Okay, we are alocal business, like I spend I'm
a you know, a small businessowner in walt Massachusetts. I support little
(22:48):
kid basketball teams, spend most ofmy money here, and I like that.
And I feel like if I wasto like send to everybody like an
Amazon gift card, it would belike very off. It would just yeah,
nius and maybe welcomed, but alsojust a little bit out of alignment
with like what I'm saying. SoI think that that's such an important thing.
(23:11):
And I remember seeing some uproar andthis is maybe in the financial advisor
space. I would say there's probablythere's rules as far as how much we
can gifts and things like that.To get, you know too, for
whatever reason. But I remember seeingthat there was a male advisor and he
was sending his male clients like whiskeyand golf balls, and he was sending
(23:33):
like his female clients like children's nurseryrhymes. I was like, what,
Yeah, but it was kind ofsaying like, he's the man, he
has all the money. We're goingto give him these like fancy gifts that
are very like and then like we'refiguring that like she's just and I read
stories to my kids all the time. Don't get me wrong, but I
(23:56):
was also like, this would turnme off if I got a gift like
this. So I think it's supervaluable that you are spending so much time
learning about your clients and then aboutexactly about their clients, about their recipients,
and a lot of times one ofthe questions we ask is like what
do you talking about the emotional aspect? What do you want your client to
(24:18):
feel? Right? Like what whatmessage? Because there's a story behind it,
there's a message behind what do youwant them to feel? Not just
appreciated and the fact that you consideredthem and all the things, but like,
you know, is there any otheremotional piece there that they're going to
tie themselves to when they receive thisgift. So, um, you know,
is it a celebratory gift, isit is it a gift of joy?
(24:41):
Is it a gift of self care? Is it a gift of you
know? Um reset you know,like there's all of these reasons to send
a gift, and again it doesn'thave to be you had mentioned like there's
you know, maybe limitations around howmuch to be able to spend. I
just I just empower people or tryto influence people to just think about your
(25:03):
client journey and the touch points.That does not mean that every single you
know, every single touchpoint has tohave a gift, right or a gift
at that level, right, itcan. But if you map out the
touch points they are important and thegoals behind them, then focus in on
like the most important one and makethat one explosive, Right, That's that's
(25:26):
all you need to do. Yeah. I think that's smart because it can
be something that gives that business ownersmaybe put off implementing the strategy because they
think like, Okay, if Igive this big Christmas gift or this big
holiday gift or this big new client, that's what they're going to expect all
the time. I have to keepup with that, and that can be
a little intimidating when you think aboutlike growing your business, having more clients
(25:48):
and the budget. And I thinkthat's that's true what you're saying that it
can always be there. It couldbe a part of it, but it
doesn't have to be the exact samedollar amount or exactly like spend of the
same size. It doesn't doesn't haveto be like I am, we offer
handwritten no cards, and because Ijust find it to be I was just
(26:10):
talking about this with my kids lastnight, about like having a penpal,
you know, like remember when wehad when people used to write like notes
to each other and send them throughthe mail. I'm like that to me,
is so is such an unexpected thingwhen you receive mail that's not a
bill, by the way, um, And so it can be as little
as that as an actual handwritten nocard for one of your touch points,
(26:33):
right, That's yeah, Because Ithink about like my mom is somebody who
never forgets a birthday or a holidayor anything, and she always sends a
card in the mail, always has, and she sends once to like her
grand nieces and nephews with like fivedollars that she does not have a lot
of money to send this, butshe is somebody who will always do that
because it feels good to her tobe somebody who does that, and and
(26:56):
it is very memorable and kind Isthat something that with you know, cell
phones and technology and email, that'skind of been you know, a part
of the past that maybe should beworth bringing back. I mean we think
so obviously something with gifts, right, like I mean overall gifts, right,
(27:17):
instead of like giving the gift cardor the even the digital gift card,
it's a tangible, physical thing thatsomebody can receive and touch and feel,
And so I think that that isjust a whole different level. Yeah,
I think it's and I kind oflove, like you just mentioned it
being a tangible thing. And alot of us are in business with intangible
(27:40):
services coaching like financial advising and planning. Like I could I could hand you
the huge plan, but a lotof what I'm doing with people is talking.
There is no like here is youryou know, here's the product.
You know. It's interesting to kindof think of ways to combine that with
(28:02):
you know, the experience because you'reright. Sometimes you pay for something like
say you're getting a high ticket coach, and then you're just like the panic
sets and what did I pay for? What am I doing? Right?
I almost feel like anchoring that withsomething physical could have and I just feel
like from a business standpoint that thatwould be so smart. We are what
(28:25):
they are. We do a tremendousamount with service based businesses, specifically coaches,
financial planners, lawyers right, andthey're sending or even web designers,
they're sending onboarding packages right for theirclients. And it's just like it's a
it's a thank you in an appreciationgift, and it's also just it's creating
a level of trust from the start, like they've already made this big decision
(28:51):
to go into this relationship or enterinto this relationship with you for whatever service
you're providing, and it's usually,like you said, a pretty big jump
and an upfront cost, and soto have that gift to immediately go out
right after that to just reconfirm you'vemade the right choice, you're in good
hands and we are not only dowe appreciate your business, but you've made
(29:12):
the right choice and you're in goodhands. To me is like so underutilized.
I feel like because I trust meand I've been on the other side
right Like I've been I've made big, huge financial decisions in my business,
utilizing coaches, utilizing lawyers and financialall the things, and yeah, it's
(29:34):
it can be very overwhelming, andso to receive something on that back end,
No, I made, I madethe right decision. This person truly
is the person for me, isI think is huge. Yeah, and
I think it is actually very genuinebecause you do if you care about your
clients and people you're working with,like doing something like this to go to
(29:55):
that next level is authentic. It'snot like, Okay, you give me
a lead and I'm going to sendyou a gift cards and I'm gonna like
buy you a copy, which I'veseen a lot of. And that makes
me think about like the next partabout you know, how you know this
could be for you know, retainingclient. But like a lot of us
are in the business of meeting withother business owners and talking with them.
(30:18):
I like, and so I thinkabout some of the relationships I have with
attorneys and CPAs and some of thereferrals they're like when it comes to referrals.
Like, I mean, it's kindof like, and I heard another
coach this, it's like when you're, you know, teaching your kids how
to like use the potty, youdon't say like, okay, hey,
good job. When they do it, you go crazy. You make this
(30:41):
big, huge deal about it becauseyou want them to do it again.
So how can gifting help with yourlike referral and networking strategy? Yeah,
so I think I think it helpswith both. And I also think that
it helps with referrals and opening doorsfor you. So the way I kind
of think of it is, youknow, if you can give the old
(31:02):
thing, it's better to give thanto receive, right, It's true.
So if you're networking or trying tocreate like a meaningful partnership from the get
go, it's better to go intothat interaction thinking and you know, internally,
how am I bringing value to thisperson? What can I do for
them today, right today, beforethey've even pass through the reveral today.
So sometimes you're trying to break intoa new industry collect contacts in that industry,
(31:26):
and you may or may not knowhow to, like right away,
how to help them. I gothrough this myself right every time I'm leveling
up, I'm like, I don'tnecessarily know that I have that direct contact
for them yet, right, So, and that's okay. Like I would
beat myself up for that for solong and then I'm like, it's okay.
(31:47):
So, but it doesn't mean that, you know, you can't show
them how important the perspective relationship isto you. And the best way to
do that is to show up withIt doesn't have to be big, even
a small, meaningful gift, rightIt just leaves an amazing great first impression
and they're gonna want to reciprocate somehow. So it's also a great way,
(32:12):
like to think about it in termsof opening doors, a great easy way
to follow up, very streamline wayto literally it just it's a talking point,
right, Oh, how did youyou know? How did you did
you try that coffee that you knowwas included in that gift? You know,
um snowy Owl was one of myfavorite brands or you know, and
(32:35):
it has such a smooth taste,like hoping that you felt the same,
or like, you know, whatdid you think about did you go down
the rabbit hole about so and so'sbrand story? You know, because a
lot of times it's local makers,right, so maybe somebody really enjoyed something
and now they're like the googling.You don't know, but it's a great
talking point and a follow up point. So that's in terms of opening doors
(33:00):
and networking, I think crucially important. And then yeah, maybe you are
sending also sending the referral gift,but maybe it doesn't have to be as
big a referral thank you gift orif it's a long term I always go
into these like strategic partnership opportunities withthe long the long game in mind.
So it's it's me thinking again throughall right, how do I want to
(33:22):
honor my referral partners? Like I'vespent the last two years passing stuff back
and forth with this person, andnow I'm like, how am I going
to how am I going to honorthat relationship or even how am I taking
that to the next level. Sosome of that, some of it that
I've done on my own, isthe gifting part at first, and then
it becomes more of a partnership whereit's like are we you know, are
(33:43):
we doing something with affiliate percentages?Are we you know? It just creates
like this really nice like appreciation mutually. I think if you're starting the relationship
off with some sort of some sortof gift or you know, honoring that
person, and that's the value you'regiving all the way through too, after
they've actually passed you the first referralall the way through. Okay, now
(34:07):
we're two years down the road andwe clearly do a lot of business together,
you know, And I think thatcould be easy. I mean,
these are you know, usually peoplewho are in business, you could find
their address without having just I haveyour address because I'm going to send you
a present. Like it's just likevery like casual about it. But I
do think it's like I like theperspective that you come through with everything,
(34:27):
because it sounds like you're really lookingat like how can I, you know,
how can I show someone how muchvalue I feel that this relationship,
because I think that is so youknow, and I think a lot of
us have been very turned off withlike the type of networking groups that are
available where it's very much like youare expected to give referrals, you're expected
to get them, and like peopleare just like waiting for their turn to
(34:49):
talk. I've shied away from allof those because it just doesn't feel authentic,
It doesn't feel right to me.What if this isn't the person for
me? Well, like, Ithink that this is just a different,
much more organic way to like reallyshow the people that you want to work
with or that you feel are thebest fit for your clients, you know,
whether it's something that you don't doto show them that. I think
(35:14):
I think it's very smart. Andlike, when you're working with somebody,
like a new client, what isthe process like like how how how many
you know, how how long doyou speak with them? Just for somebody
who's maybe listening and thinking like,okay, this is I have a couple
touch points that I'm missing the markon. How does that process tend to
work? Yeah, no, greatquestion. So I you know, I
(35:34):
am the founder of bellbox Code,but I also classify myself as like the
lead gift strategist here. So weare you know, from inquiry, whether
that's inquiry on the site or youknow, um, we've actually met at
a networking event and then we're exchangingemail communication. We do set up a
gift consultation call. That call doesnot have to be long. It can
be a call it can be azoom, it can be an email and
(35:57):
direction. However, I really loveit. From the beginning standpoint, to
spend thirty minutes together, I askedvery pointed questions about you know, our
It gets down to the level of, like, you know, are their
products that you do not want tosee in a concept? Are their products
that you absolutely or brands that youact absolutely want to see in a concept.
But it really starts with their goalsand their vision what they're trying to
(36:22):
achieve. We get to know theirclient a little bit better, especially if
it's an ongoing client program, whichis what one of the things we offer.
We get to know their their clientand who they're trying to work with
or attract if it's you know,for if it's for opening doors like prospecting
gifts. And then from there wegather all this information and then on the
(36:45):
behind the scenes it takes about aweek to sometimes too. I mean,
obviously we can we can move alittle quicker if there's an immediate need,
but to develop a concept that's exclusiveto that business owner. Okay, so
you're going to receive something that evenhas like if you're getting down to the
level of having your branding on things. There will be mockups of your branding
(37:06):
on items because we do offer someprivate label candles and such or candy boxes.
So it's going to be very exclusiveto you, very tailored to you.
Your goals, the concepts that youwanted to see, everything we talked
about in the gift consultation. Onceyou make your selection, we then go
down the process of obviously contract signingand invoicing, and then we will procure
(37:35):
the product by the product received youall our quality checks, like that's something
that is really underestimated, right,like receiving and doing your quality checks to
make sure it's exactly what you hadordered, and we store though that inventory.
We manage that inventory. We actuallygive your own gifting portal where you
can input addresses seamlessly and then weare notified when you input those dresses and
(38:00):
the message that you want in thehandwritten no card, and the gift seamlessly
goes out. But everything, allthe work really is done up front,
and it really starts with a thirtyminute consultation and after that it's like email.
You know, email communication not verylong, and you know you can
have gifts ready to ship within likesix to eight weeks. Basically, I
(38:22):
think thank you for sharing, becauseI think that's another thing that people is
something new. They're just not sure, like what do I need to do?
Do I need to find stuff?Do I need to spend a lot
of times that's great, you canjust kind of start with a thirty minute
call and then really kind of naileddown what you know, what your ideas
are. I feel like for someindustries, like real estate, like they're
like very much combedded in the giftgiving, like this is the closing gifts,
(38:43):
these are these gifts. But alot of other industries I think can
take advantage of this as a partof their client experience and client relationship,
Like it's it's basically you know,that is such an important thing, and
especially for a small business, Ithink it's just a huge way to not
only like do your job, butto make people feel like you are the
(39:07):
right you're their person, which Ithink is just you know, that's really
hard. That's a very sticky relationship. It's very hard. You know.
Once I like a few people thatI feel like are my go toos for
everything, it would take a lotof mountains to be moved for me to
like what to ever, you know, kind of reach out or go to
somebody else. And so I thinkit's such a smart, smart method to
(39:29):
implement when it comes to strategy.How can people find out more about your
company and connect with you if they'relooking to maybe implement this. Yeah,
so you can find us at wwwdot bellboxco dot com. Like I said,
we do have some collections on therefrom the e commerce standpoint, but
you can also just email me atJennifer at bellboxco dot com to set up
(39:52):
a gift consultation. You can alsoacquire right on the website and then we
are on Instagram at bellbox cou andFacebook at bellbox Co. Thank you so
much. It was it was greatto meet you and talk about this.
I, as somebody who's received it, think that these gifts are beautiful,
they are amazing, They have suchan like it felt special opening a gift
(40:19):
from bellbox Co. And so Ithink that what you're doing is brilliant and
hopefully more people will see the valuein this type of this type of relationship
and having something kind of ready togo when you feel like you're you,
you know, some magic happened.You found the perpect client and you want
to send them something right away.I think it's so smart to have that
kind of ready to go where youdon't need to then think about it and
(40:42):
have that just be another thing onyour to do list. You can outsource
this delighting your clients, So thankyou so much for joining. And if
you are a business owner and youare looking to see how you can implement
certain activities or expenses into your financialplan, please head over to Misty Lynch
dot com. I would love tohelp you and talk about what your goals
are for your business and how wecan start to grow that and then add
(41:04):
in all of these valuable experiences.Thank you so much for joining, and
we'll talk again next week. Ifyou enjoyed this podcast, I'd love to
see if those other ways that Icould help you with your finances. Please
head over to Misty Lynch dot comto learn more.
Hey there, thank you so muchfor joining me today for this episode of
Demystifying Money. I'm miss Lynch,and today I want to talk about gifts
and particularly using gift giving strategically inyour business. I know it is you
know, Spring, so most ofus, you know, focus Q four
(00:31):
about holiday gifts. But I wasthinking about gifts in general and how because
well I did. I did somebusiness with a small business owner locally recently,
um and out of the blue,I received this beautiful gift. It
(00:53):
was it was a box and ithad a few different items inside it.
It was just very, very beautifuland it was so nice. It was
so unexpected. It was like inJanuary or February, and it made me
think about that impact on a businessrelationship, Like when you receive something tangible
(01:19):
that you can hold, that youcan look at, that you could repurpose
or use or share, it doeshave a certain impact on that connection.
It solidifies that like if anybody islooking for this particular service in the future,
it would be pretty tough for menot to recommend or think about,
(01:42):
you know, this person that I'veinteracted with, and I think that there's
there's a way that we can incorporate, not even just like expensive gifts,
like anything like handwritten notes, randomgifts, certain things throughout the year,
or something intentionally when maybe someone providesa referral or somebody does something that goes
(02:07):
out of their way to help you, or you're bringing on a new client,
and maybe you're in a business likea coach where you don't really have
a tangible product where someone can say, Okay, I would like to buy
a car. I go get thecar, I drive away with the car.
I could see it, I couldtouch it, I could use it.
Where it's like more Okay, we'regonna work on your mindset, or
(02:28):
we're gonna work on you know,when I'm doing financial planning investment advice with
people like some of it is moreabstract, and I think there is something
to it. So I wanted totalk to an expert, and so I
reached out to the Jennifer O'Hare she'sthe owner of Bellbox Co. Because as
soon as I got this gift,I immediately went to social media to share
(02:51):
the picture of this gift the personwho gave it to me and tagged them
in everything because it was just sucha nice surprise. Now this is a
great this is a business opportunity.So I wanted to talk to Jennifer about
how we can incorporate gifting into ourmarketing and our business because a lot of
times we see that as like anafterthought, a Q fourth thing, maybe
(03:14):
in expense, but I think it'sit's so much more. And you know
some people, some people there lovelanguage is gifts, giving them or receiving
them. I know my mom inparticular, she's somebody who loves she gives
gifts. She bakes for people allthe time. She always remembers to send
a card for pretty much anybody she'sever met's birthday, And like if you
(03:38):
told her, like if I tellher, like please don't get the kids
any gifts this year, or don'tget anything for me this year, even
if she has no money to spend, it's basically like a slap in the
face to tell her not to givea gift, because it makes her feel
connected, it makes her feel happy. She gets a lot from that.
So if that sounds like you,or it's something that you felt that impact
(04:00):
when somebody has given you a gift, or you feel really good when you're
able to give, I think you'lllike today's episode, Jennifer shares a lot
of tips and it's so smart andif you're a local business, I think,
I think it can be really interestingto think about this this channel not
just as an expense, but asan investment. Welcome to the Demystifying Money
(04:21):
podcast, where each week you willhear unforgettable conversations with expert guests about success,
money, business, and small stepsyou can take to elevate your life
and wealth. Now here's your host, Missy Lynch. Hey everyone, thank
you so much for joining me forthis episode of Demystifying Money. I am
excited to be joined by my friendJennifer O'Hare. She is the owner of
(04:44):
Belle boxc and she specializes in giftingand I think this is such an important
piece of basically being a business ownerthat sometimes gets you know, ignored or
only thought of during Q four andscrambled where I think this could be such
a great way to improve your clientrelationships, your referral relationships, all of
(05:05):
those things that are super important toa small business, and it should be
something that we think about all yearlong. So thank you so much Jennifer
for joining me today. Thank you, Missy for having me So tell me
a little bit more about your company. How long have you been in business
and what kind of got you interestedin this business in the first place.
(05:25):
Yeah. So we've been in businessfor about a year and a half.
We're located in Watertown, but wedo ship nationally. And what got me
interested is just kind of a funnystory, right, the backstory to how
it all happened. But I amjust in general, I'm not only a
business owner. I'm a mom ofthree, busy mom of three. So
(05:47):
when I am not assembling gifts orgiving presentations or podcast interviews, I'm carting
three kids all over Massachusetts for variousactivities. But I started Bellbox during the
pandemic as a way to kind ofnurture and show up for my existing relationships,
whether that be with family, friendsand neighbors, or even co workers.
(06:08):
We were everybody was so isolated indistant so but really, I spent
fourteen years as a senior merchant fora leading off price retailer here in Massachusetts,
and at the time we were allhome, I was homeschooling, I
was working from home, trying tokeep my sanity all the things like most
other people, and I would createor curate little gifts to send to people
(06:31):
for their birthdays and anniversaries or justbecause we were stuck at home, you
know, trying to like keep everybody'slevel of hope alive, everybody's level of
joy alive. And it was thatelement of surprise and delight that like totally
stood out for me, The emotionalreaction when people like received an unexpected gift
(06:55):
and at that time you have toimagine it was like on their doorsteps,
so that was even better, andthat that gift was tailored to them right
in what they valued. It wasjust to me, it was just so
satisfying. It was an amazing wayfor me to kind of give back and
extend my expertise, which was youknow, curating assortments and brand discovery.
(07:19):
So given my background and all thetime I had on my hands, I
put a ton of effort into thepresentation as well of those gifts, right,
it was super important that they werepresented in an elevated way. And
then soon I just began getting requestsfor larger bulk orders, I would say,
(07:42):
And so like the first one wasa local influencer reached out to me.
Now I was in some Facebook groupsand again a little bit like looking
for some connection even from outside ofmy existing relationships, just connection with other
mothers in the area, with otherworking professionals in the area. So Facebook
is kind of where I hung out, pop some photos up in some groups,
(08:07):
and before I knew it, Ihad some people reaching out and you
know, loving what I was doing. Oh do you do these? You
know, on a larger scale.So I did a local influencer reached out
and I did her bridal party gifts, and then after that, I did
a larger order for a virtual babyshower, so everyone was stuck at home.
(08:28):
Guests could not attend, so theyhad to be with the mom to
be on video. So we weresending little kits so that they were able
to celebrate with the mom to beon video. So that was really the
second one. And just after that, I was like, this is this
is really what people need and wantme for and other people are struggling and
(08:50):
challenged by keeping those connections alive andstrengthening those relationships. So I knew it
had to be something where I knewI could directly support that um, which
felt really good. So that's kindof how it all began. Did you
did you M. Did you leaveyour job right away or when you started
your business? How did you youknow when did you decide to start to
(09:13):
do this full time? UM?And how did that feels? Yeah,
exactly, that's a great UM question. So I did not leave right away.
UM. Once I decided to reallymake it a business. I took
my time to develop my branding,to develop my messaging M to really hone
(09:33):
in on the values of my company, what I wanted to stand for UM.
And I'm glad I did that rightand they still are constantly shifting,
right, but my values will alwaysstay the same, and the value of
the company and the the level ofsupport and customer service that I want to
deliver will always be there. Sobecause I took that time to nail nail
(09:54):
that down, UM, I feltreally I would say completely confident, but
I felt really energized and excited tolaunch this business into the world. So
I quit my job in I leftmy full time job in June of twenty
twenty one, and then I launchedin October of twenty twenty one. Yeah.
(10:20):
So that's I think it's it's importantto know it because I think some
of us have these ideas and wehave them for a while, and I
think it's absolutely okay to nurture thatand to think about what do I need
to do, because sometimes having justa great idea is it's a huge part
of it, but it's not everything. And so I think that's great that
you gave yourself a little runway.You had some time to think about your
(10:43):
messaging and your branding. What aresome of the other investments that you made
into your business that you feel likewere very important to have kind of from
day one. I know as yougrow, you expand locations and things like
that, but what were some ofthe things that you felt had the biggest
impact for you somebody? Most ofyour connections on social media, right,
(11:03):
A very good question. One ofthe big investments that I made was into
a laser printer slash engraver. Andthe reason why we did that so it's
a piece of equipment, right.So the reason why we did that is
because of, like I said,the level of support and the level of
personalization I wanted to offer. SoI also invested this kind of goes simultaneously
(11:26):
you're side by side with the engraver. I invested not only time, energy
and effort plus my resources into findinga local woodworker who would help with what
would be our signature wooden white pinebox. I'm really proud of that.
You know, my background is insourcing, but it's it's not easy,
(11:48):
right, It's just like going downthe road of figuring out who's going to
manufacture your product. I wanted themto be local. I had a very
specific design in mind. I wantedthe functionality to be there and that took
a while. So with that,I knew the reason why I went down
the road of the wooden white pinebox is because I wanted to add a
level of personalization that felt very elevatedand elegant versus you know, doing everything
(12:16):
in all the personalization with paper product, we do that as well, right,
whether it's branded wraps, it's justyou know, a different take on
things. But I feel like thatmakes us stand out, I think.
And it's it's funny because I've receiveda gift from us and I worked with
Gabrielle Beauvay. She helped me dothe interior design for my office and she
(12:37):
sent me one of your gifts asI when I became a client of hers,
and the box is gorgeous. Itook all the things out and used
them and ate that. But thebox and I know this is a podcast,
but I'm gonna show you in thevideo it is like down here over
there on the foot because I hadthis whole basket of like chords that were
stuck in the wallet I can't removeand so yeah, put them all in
(12:58):
the box and out good idea.It's just it was too pretty. I
couldn't I couldn't throw it away.Yeah. Absolutely, And that's kind of
like what we stand for, right, It's a it's a key stake in
itself exactly. No, it's justeverything. And I will say that as
somebody who received one of your oneof your products, it did make an
(13:20):
impression. So tell me a littlebit more about like what what from your
perspective, because I just know howI felt. But from your perspective,
I'm sure there is more work behindit and science behind it, like what
makes a lasting impression when it comesto giving gifts. So I touched on
it a little bit, but overall, I think personalization makes a lasting impression.
(13:41):
And that can look different depending onwhat you're talking about, right,
So, whether that's the items thatyou select to include inside the gifts or
the actual personalization or even adding theirbranding, like the client that you're sent
right adding their branding or their nameto the box a handwritten note card is
(14:03):
considered personalized, right like, thatis something that not many people take the
time to do. And we havean option right on the site. Actually,
so we do specialize in custom designfor large order client appreciation, retention
and referral. However, we dohave an option right on the site where
(14:24):
you can choose a gift from ourcollection and add their logo of you know,
the client, or add your ownlogo for an employee gift by way
of engraving. And it's different,right, it stands out and that box
will never be tossed. We justtalked about it. It's truly a keepsake
in itself and most people will youknow, use it otherwise. And so
(14:46):
again you get that sustainability factor inthere, and they're always going to remember
that when they they're always going toremember you too, like when they look
at that that gift box. It'scertainly I believe, you know, I
think it's helpful. Even Two ofthe things that stood out for me.
First of all, the gift wasbeautiful. It made me want to find
out where it came from, whichis how I found you and decided to
(15:11):
invite you on to talk about yourbusiness because I just you know, that
was just something that was very cool, but I didn't expect it, yes,
at all. How much does thatimpact when you're talking with somebody who's
really trying to build a nice havethis be a part of their strategy their
business, you know, their businessplanning and marketing when they're looking at their
budget or kind of like where theywant to invest their money. And a
(15:35):
lot of small business owners like mightnot have a huge marketing budget yet,
but they may decide this as apiece of it. How how important is
that that element of timing when itcomes to being somebody who is very memorable.
I think it's so funny that yousay this, because it really is
a strategic process. I think wherewe can really help is acting as a
(15:58):
partner or an extension kind of ofyour client services team. Right, so
there is not enough focus on thedistribution or delivery strategy whatever you want to
call it, and whether that couldbe like gifting off holiday right, I
like I feel like I was onmy soapbox in November about like everybody love
that we're all gifting during Q four. It's amazing. Has anybody thought about
(16:19):
gifting in January like for the newYear? And what happened was is I
was actually very busy in January.There were a lot of people that actually
heard that message, because you willbe instead of being one of forty gifts
that someone will receive that that month, you will be maybe one of a
couple if that, and so you'rereally going to stand out there. And
(16:41):
you know, so I do believethat the distribution strategy or delivery strategy matters.
And yes, it can be downto the timing of when you're gifting.
Maybe it's other, you know,off the cuff holidays that people are
not thinking about. That's another wayto kind of stand out and make an
impression. But even down to thisis why I feel like it's more.
(17:06):
We offer so much more because it'sall of this strategic piece that people aren't
necessarily thinking about, but even downto how you are, how they are
receiving their gift, and so thatcould look like a link through a website
where they actually get to choose theirown gift. Right, we've done the
work upfront with you to kind ofpre select and curate the gift, and
(17:29):
then it's an amazing unexpected email wherethere's a link and they get to actually
choose, so it's one of twogifts or another thing that we've done,
which I love because obviously the philanthropicelement of it is you can actually choose
to donate that gift, which Ithink is an awesome option, especially if
(17:52):
having that philanthropic element is really importantto you. That's interesting because I'm sure
that there's some people that you know, love you know, I love getting
gifts. I think that it's alwayslike such a nice surprise. It makes
me super excited. But there mightbe some people that are like, I
don't want more stuff. I don'twant to, like I would rather have
(18:12):
that go to somebody else or somewhereelse. So I think that's such a
nice option because everyone is different,and I think this is something that I've
noticed, you know, as Istarted to have my own clients, whether
within the past you know, afew years, and I started gifting,
you know, sending gifts out tothem, you know, usually during the
holidays or when there was a transitionbetween when I was changing different employers,
(18:37):
and things like that to finally goingout on my own. I have two
children, busy, how all thisstuff, Like I'm networking with people and
I remember getting one message from somebodywho said, like this was the only
gift they got period, and likeshe was like, oh, it made
me cry. I was so happy, And I forget that. Like there's
everybody who's in such a different placeall the time, and so I feel
(19:00):
like there's certain like if you're ina service business or you're in like the
mindset of just wanting to like surpriseand delight your clients, like at every
opportunity, like we don't know whatkind of month that person is having or
exactly. So I feel like thereis this emotional impact that is missing.
(19:22):
Where do most business owners kind ofmiss the mark when it comes to how
this could have an impact in theirbusiness strategy versus some of the things like
likes, shares, views on socialright, most people are missing the mark
really by not having a strategy.Really at the end of the day,
(19:45):
not having a strategy when it comesto client or employee appreciation, retention referrals
right, that to me start that'snumber one, And to be fair,
most people don't know where to begin. It feels super over whelming. They
may not understand what a business likeus does right at the level that we
do it and the level of supportthat they have access to. So it's
(20:10):
more than just curating a gift.It's like I had said before, it's
a strategic process that we go throughwith our clients. So not only are
we developing the concepts that align witheither their vision, their values, right
their brand, their goals, butalso the develop developing the impactful distribution strategy
goes along with that, and thenwe execute it for them. Right then
(20:33):
it's like taking it all the waythrough, so they're not even touching the
actual gift or shipment and unless theywant to. That's another piece of it.
If they want them ship to theirhouse because they want to hand deliver,
that's huge as well. So Ido feel like most people are missing
the mark there is really the firstpart of it is not thinking ahead about
what that strategy could look like,and I do feel like it comes from
(20:56):
a place of overwhelm, and Itotally understand that there's a lot that goes
into what we do and that's reallywhere we can help. On the other
hand, having a gift that ispersonalized to that client. I think is
another place where people might be missingthe mark. Yes, do we all
(21:17):
love to put our brand slap ourbrand onto everything. Of course we do.
But there is a way to dothat in a tasteful, a tasteful
manner where maybe it's one item hasyour brand on it, but then there's
another item that may have their brandon it, or maybe it's one item
has your brand on it, andthen it's you know, you're personalizing that
gift to them with either their logalor their name, right, So I
(21:42):
feel like that piece is really missing. And then in terms of the contents
inside, you know, it's reallythink about the practicality, the usability.
What are some things that are importantto you that you know are important to
your clients. So if that's likeshopping small or shopping local, we go
through all those questions with our clientsat the beginning. What's important to you?
(22:03):
What do you think is important toyour clients? You know your audience
best, right, So if yourclients are are, if you're preaching all
the time about shopping local and findingdifferent artisans and local makers, then we're
gonna I'm gonna show you concepts thathave all local and artisan makers. We
have preferred vendors. We have noproblem reaching out and sourcing other vendors.
If you've had your eye on something, that's that's the level of support that
(22:27):
we offer. And so yeah,I feel like that was a couple of
different places where I feel like businessowners couldn't do a little better. Yeah.
No, I think that's so importantbecause it has to be like I
think it has to be an alignment, you know, like if you're saying,
like, Okay, we are alocal business, like I spend I'm
a you know, a small businessowner in walt Massachusetts. I support little
(22:48):
kid basketball teams, spend most ofmy money here, and I like that.
And I feel like if I wasto like send to everybody like an
Amazon gift card, it would belike very off. It would just yeah,
nius and maybe welcomed, but alsojust a little bit out of alignment
with like what I'm saying. SoI think that that's such an important thing.
(23:11):
And I remember seeing some uproar andthis is maybe in the financial advisor
space. I would say there's probablythere's rules as far as how much we
can gifts and things like that.To get, you know too, for
whatever reason. But I remember seeingthat there was a male advisor and he
was sending his male clients like whiskeyand golf balls, and he was sending
(23:33):
like his female clients like children's nurseryrhymes. I was like, what,
Yeah, but it was kind ofsaying like, he's the man, he
has all the money. We're goingto give him these like fancy gifts that
are very like and then like we'refiguring that like she's just and I read
stories to my kids all the time. Don't get me wrong, but I
(23:56):
was also like, this would turnme off if I got a gift like
this. So I think it's supervaluable that you are spending so much time
learning about your clients and then aboutexactly about their clients, about their recipients,
and a lot of times one ofthe questions we ask is like what
do you talking about the emotional aspect? What do you want your client to
(24:18):
feel? Right? Like what whatmessage? Because there's a story behind it,
there's a message behind what do youwant them to feel? Not just
appreciated and the fact that you consideredthem and all the things, but like,
you know, is there any otheremotional piece there that they're going to
tie themselves to when they receive thisgift. So, um, you know,
is it a celebratory gift, isit is it a gift of joy?
(24:41):
Is it a gift of self care? Is it a gift of you
know? Um reset you know,like there's all of these reasons to send
a gift, and again it doesn'thave to be you had mentioned like there's
you know, maybe limitations around howmuch to be able to spend. I
just I just empower people or tryto influence people to just think about your
(25:03):
client journey and the touch points.That does not mean that every single you
know, every single touchpoint has tohave a gift, right or a gift
at that level, right, itcan. But if you map out the
touch points they are important and thegoals behind them, then focus in on
like the most important one and makethat one explosive, Right, That's that's
(25:26):
all you need to do. Yeah. I think that's smart because it can
be something that gives that business ownersmaybe put off implementing the strategy because they
think like, Okay, if Igive this big Christmas gift or this big
holiday gift or this big new client, that's what they're going to expect all
the time. I have to keepup with that, and that can be
a little intimidating when you think aboutlike growing your business, having more clients
(25:48):
and the budget. And I thinkthat's that's true what you're saying that it
can always be there. It couldbe a part of it, but it
doesn't have to be the exact samedollar amount or exactly like spend of the
same size. It doesn't doesn't haveto be like I am, we offer
handwritten no cards, and because Ijust find it to be I was just
(26:10):
talking about this with my kids lastnight, about like having a penpal,
you know, like remember when wehad when people used to write like notes
to each other and send them throughthe mail. I'm like that to me,
is so is such an unexpected thingwhen you receive mail that's not a
bill, by the way, um, And so it can be as little
as that as an actual handwritten nocard for one of your touch points,
(26:33):
right, That's yeah, Because Ithink about like my mom is somebody who
never forgets a birthday or a holidayor anything, and she always sends a
card in the mail, always has, and she sends once to like her
grand nieces and nephews with like fivedollars that she does not have a lot
of money to send this, butshe is somebody who will always do that
because it feels good to her tobe somebody who does that, and and
(26:56):
it is very memorable and kind Isthat something that with you know, cell
phones and technology and email, that'skind of been you know, a part
of the past that maybe should beworth bringing back. I mean we think
so obviously something with gifts, right, like I mean overall gifts, right,
(27:17):
instead of like giving the gift cardor the even the digital gift card,
it's a tangible, physical thing thatsomebody can receive and touch and feel,
And so I think that that isjust a whole different level. Yeah,
I think it's and I kind oflove, like you just mentioned it
being a tangible thing. And alot of us are in business with intangible
(27:40):
services coaching like financial advising and planning. Like I could I could hand you
the huge plan, but a lotof what I'm doing with people is talking.
There is no like here is youryou know, here's the product.
You know. It's interesting to kindof think of ways to combine that with
(28:02):
you know, the experience because you'reright. Sometimes you pay for something like
say you're getting a high ticket coach, and then you're just like the panic
sets and what did I pay for? What am I doing? Right?
I almost feel like anchoring that withsomething physical could have and I just feel
like from a business standpoint that thatwould be so smart. We are what
(28:25):
they are. We do a tremendousamount with service based businesses, specifically coaches,
financial planners, lawyers right, andthey're sending or even web designers,
they're sending onboarding packages right for theirclients. And it's just like it's a
it's a thank you in an appreciationgift, and it's also just it's creating
a level of trust from the start, like they've already made this big decision
(28:51):
to go into this relationship or enterinto this relationship with you for whatever service
you're providing, and it's usually,like you said, a pretty big jump
and an upfront cost, and soto have that gift to immediately go out
right after that to just reconfirm you'vemade the right choice, you're in good
hands and we are not only dowe appreciate your business, but you've made
(29:12):
the right choice and you're in goodhands. To me is like so underutilized.
I feel like because I trust meand I've been on the other side
right Like I've been I've made big, huge financial decisions in my business,
utilizing coaches, utilizing lawyers and financialall the things, and yeah, it's
(29:34):
it can be very overwhelming, andso to receive something on that back end,
No, I made, I madethe right decision. This person truly
is the person for me, isI think is huge. Yeah, and
I think it is actually very genuinebecause you do if you care about your
clients and people you're working with,like doing something like this to go to
(29:55):
that next level is authentic. It'snot like, Okay, you give me
a lead and I'm going to sendyou a gift cards and I'm gonna like
buy you a copy, which I'veseen a lot of. And that makes
me think about like the next partabout you know, how you know this
could be for you know, retainingclient. But like a lot of us
are in the business of meeting withother business owners and talking with them.
(30:18):
I like, and so I thinkabout some of the relationships I have with
attorneys and CPAs and some of thereferrals they're like when it comes to referrals.
Like, I mean, it's kindof like, and I heard another
coach this, it's like when you're, you know, teaching your kids how
to like use the potty, youdon't say like, okay, hey,
good job. When they do it, you go crazy. You make this
(30:41):
big, huge deal about it becauseyou want them to do it again.
So how can gifting help with yourlike referral and networking strategy? Yeah,
so I think I think it helpswith both. And I also think that
it helps with referrals and opening doorsfor you. So the way I kind
of think of it is, youknow, if you can give the old
(31:02):
thing, it's better to give thanto receive, right, It's true.
So if you're networking or trying tocreate like a meaningful partnership from the get
go, it's better to go intothat interaction thinking and you know, internally,
how am I bringing value to thisperson? What can I do for
them today, right today, beforethey've even pass through the reveral today.
So sometimes you're trying to break intoa new industry collect contacts in that industry,
(31:26):
and you may or may not knowhow to, like right away,
how to help them. I gothrough this myself right every time I'm leveling
up, I'm like, I don'tnecessarily know that I have that direct contact
for them yet, right, So, and that's okay. Like I would
beat myself up for that for solong and then I'm like, it's okay.
(31:47):
So, but it doesn't mean that, you know, you can't show
them how important the perspective relationship isto you. And the best way to
do that is to show up withIt doesn't have to be big, even
a small, meaningful gift, rightIt just leaves an amazing great first impression
and they're gonna want to reciprocate somehow. So it's also a great way,
(32:12):
like to think about it in termsof opening doors, a great easy way
to follow up, very streamline wayto literally it just it's a talking point,
right, Oh, how did youyou know? How did you did
you try that coffee that you knowwas included in that gift? You know,
um snowy Owl was one of myfavorite brands or you know, and
(32:35):
it has such a smooth taste,like hoping that you felt the same,
or like, you know, whatdid you think about did you go down
the rabbit hole about so and so'sbrand story? You know, because a
lot of times it's local makers,right, so maybe somebody really enjoyed something
and now they're like the googling.You don't know, but it's a great
talking point and a follow up point. So that's in terms of opening doors
(33:00):
and networking, I think crucially important. And then yeah, maybe you are
sending also sending the referral gift,but maybe it doesn't have to be as
big a referral thank you gift orif it's a long term I always go
into these like strategic partnership opportunities withthe long the long game in mind.
So it's it's me thinking again throughall right, how do I want to
(33:22):
honor my referral partners? Like I'vespent the last two years passing stuff back
and forth with this person, andnow I'm like, how am I going
to how am I going to honorthat relationship or even how am I taking
that to the next level. Sosome of that, some of it that
I've done on my own, isthe gifting part at first, and then
it becomes more of a partnership whereit's like are we you know, are
(33:43):
we doing something with affiliate percentages?Are we you know? It just creates
like this really nice like appreciation mutually. I think if you're starting the relationship
off with some sort of some sortof gift or you know, honoring that
person, and that's the value you'regiving all the way through too, after
they've actually passed you the first referralall the way through. Okay, now
(34:07):
we're two years down the road andwe clearly do a lot of business together,
you know, And I think thatcould be easy. I mean,
these are you know, usually peoplewho are in business, you could find
their address without having just I haveyour address because I'm going to send you
a present. Like it's just likevery like casual about it. But I
do think it's like I like theperspective that you come through with everything,
(34:27):
because it sounds like you're really lookingat like how can I, you know,
how can I show someone how muchvalue I feel that this relationship,
because I think that is so youknow, and I think a lot of
us have been very turned off withlike the type of networking groups that are
available where it's very much like youare expected to give referrals, you're expected
to get them, and like peopleare just like waiting for their turn to
(34:49):
talk. I've shied away from allof those because it just doesn't feel authentic,
It doesn't feel right to me.What if this isn't the person for
me? Well, like, Ithink that this is just a different,
much more organic way to like reallyshow the people that you want to work
with or that you feel are thebest fit for your clients, you know,
whether it's something that you don't doto show them that. I think
(35:14):
I think it's very smart. Andlike, when you're working with somebody,
like a new client, what isthe process like like how how how many
you know, how how long doyou speak with them? Just for somebody
who's maybe listening and thinking like,okay, this is I have a couple
touch points that I'm missing the markon. How does that process tend to
work? Yeah, no, greatquestion. So I you know, I
(35:34):
am the founder of bellbox Code,but I also classify myself as like the
lead gift strategist here. So weare you know, from inquiry, whether
that's inquiry on the site or youknow, um, we've actually met at
a networking event and then we're exchangingemail communication. We do set up a
gift consultation call. That call doesnot have to be long. It can
be a call it can be azoom, it can be an email and
(35:57):
direction. However, I really loveit. From the beginning standpoint, to
spend thirty minutes together, I askedvery pointed questions about you know, our
It gets down to the level of, like, you know, are their
products that you do not want tosee in a concept? Are their products
that you absolutely or brands that youact absolutely want to see in a concept.
But it really starts with their goalsand their vision what they're trying to
(36:22):
achieve. We get to know theirclient a little bit better, especially if
it's an ongoing client program, whichis what one of the things we offer.
We get to know their their clientand who they're trying to work with
or attract if it's you know,for if it's for opening doors like prospecting
gifts. And then from there wegather all this information and then on the
(36:45):
behind the scenes it takes about aweek to sometimes too. I mean,
obviously we can we can move alittle quicker if there's an immediate need,
but to develop a concept that's exclusiveto that business owner. Okay, so
you're going to receive something that evenhas like if you're getting down to the
level of having your branding on things. There will be mockups of your branding
(37:06):
on items because we do offer someprivate label candles and such or candy boxes.
So it's going to be very exclusiveto you, very tailored to you.
Your goals, the concepts that youwanted to see, everything we talked
about in the gift consultation. Onceyou make your selection, we then go
down the process of obviously contract signingand invoicing, and then we will procure
(37:35):
the product by the product received youall our quality checks, like that's something
that is really underestimated, right,like receiving and doing your quality checks to
make sure it's exactly what you hadordered, and we store though that inventory.
We manage that inventory. We actuallygive your own gifting portal where you
can input addresses seamlessly and then weare notified when you input those dresses and
(38:00):
the message that you want in thehandwritten no card, and the gift seamlessly
goes out. But everything, allthe work really is done up front,
and it really starts with a thirtyminute consultation and after that it's like email.
You know, email communication not verylong, and you know you can
have gifts ready to ship within likesix to eight weeks. Basically, I
(38:22):
think thank you for sharing, becauseI think that's another thing that people is
something new. They're just not sure, like what do I need to do?
Do I need to find stuff?Do I need to spend a lot
of times that's great, you canjust kind of start with a thirty minute
call and then really kind of naileddown what you know, what your ideas
are. I feel like for someindustries, like real estate, like they're
like very much combedded in the giftgiving, like this is the closing gifts,
(38:43):
these are these gifts. But alot of other industries I think can
take advantage of this as a partof their client experience and client relationship,
Like it's it's basically you know,that is such an important thing, and
especially for a small business, Ithink it's just a huge way to not
only like do your job, butto make people feel like you are the
(39:07):
right you're their person, which Ithink is just you know, that's really
hard. That's a very sticky relationship. It's very hard. You know.
Once I like a few people thatI feel like are my go toos for
everything, it would take a lotof mountains to be moved for me to
like what to ever, you know, kind of reach out or go to
somebody else. And so I thinkit's such a smart, smart method to
(39:29):
implement when it comes to strategy.How can people find out more about your
company and connect with you if they'relooking to maybe implement this. Yeah,
so you can find us at wwwdot bellboxco dot com. Like I said,
we do have some collections on therefrom the e commerce standpoint, but
you can also just email me atJennifer at bellboxco dot com to set up
(39:52):
a gift consultation. You can alsoacquire right on the website and then we
are on Instagram at bellbox cou andFacebook at bellbox Co. Thank you so
much. It was it was greatto meet you and talk about this.
I, as somebody who's received it, think that these gifts are beautiful,
they are amazing, They have suchan like it felt special opening a gift
(40:19):
from bellbox Co. And so Ithink that what you're doing is brilliant and
hopefully more people will see the valuein this type of this type of relationship
and having something kind of ready togo when you feel like you're you,
you know, some magic happened.You found the perpect client and you want
to send them something right away.I think it's so smart to have that
kind of ready to go where youdon't need to then think about it and
(40:42):
have that just be another thing onyour to do list. You can outsource
this delighting your clients, So thankyou so much for joining. And if
you are a business owner and youare looking to see how you can implement
certain activities or expenses into your financialplan, please head over to Misty Lynch
dot com. I would love tohelp you and talk about what your goals
are for your business and how wecan start to grow that and then add
(41:04):
in all of these valuable experiences.Thank you so much for joining, and
we'll talk again next week. Ifyou enjoyed this podcast, I'd love to
see if those other ways that Icould help you with your finances. Please
head over to Misty Lynch dot comto learn more.
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