As our season of celebration continues, we are reminded that Christmas, birthdays, and anniversaries are more than just a one-day event. Sure, they are recognized and observed on a particular day, but the spirit of the day and what we feel as we experience and participate in these events often continue for days, months, and even throughout the year.
In talking about giving gifts to our clients in recognition of the holiday season in which we find ourselves, there are other ways that we can provide something of value to our clients and our colleagues in terms of our clients we might be able to convey something to them that means a lot and yet cost us very little we don’t produce a bill expecting them to pay this is clearly a gift but we know the long-term value of this outweighs the initial cost to us of providing it one such gift is the so-called entrance chef or as I like to call it an entrance or welcome station this is something provided for the client in a color complementary color and design complementary of their architectural style it can be an exact match but preferably has some contrast so that it is recognizable from a short distance and not something that can be confused by people coming up to an using it we speak a lot of contrast in colors in agent in place design and here is an opportunity to display what we’re actually discussing so the shelf at least the edges of it or the a larger piece of furniture sculpture table or bench is painted and decorated in such a way that it is consistent with the architectural style and theme of the clients home and painted in a way that is easily recognizable as to where it starts stops changes direction and has edges that the person coming up to would need to be aware of this can be a very inexpensive item it can actually be a thrift store or a yard sale item that we repurposed by painting it or perhaps using it as it is but locating it on the client’s porch stoop entryway for your back porch garage or any place where entrance to or from the house is conducted we can change the drawer hardware to be more consistent with their specific needs an are aging in place goals or perhaps they are OK the way they are we can weatherproof it we can highlight it we can stencil our company logo or name on it in some important but inconspicuous place to remind them and visitors to their entrance that we have provided this for them and have had a good working relationship with them it’s a constant reminder to the client of the work that we have done to help them relat more effectively to their space the entrance shelf station forestation is a great gift that we can offer we can also offer some planting some Flowers or shrubbery in a planting area to provide color and enhance the overall appearance of the home we’re talking something relatively minor in terms of installation and cost and yet something that will have additional intrinsic as well as perceived value for a 2 story home where from the inside stair stair railing is not a building code requirement and may not have been included on the plan the initial set of plans we can provide this at no charge to the client as our way of saying that they should have this to remain safe and that we want them to have it again every time they go up and down the steps they will remember that we gave this to them as a no strings attached no charge gift this is what we mean by looking out for our clients and finding ways that we can actually provide no charge or low-cost gifts to them without needing to include that in our overall proposal
Concerning our strategic partners there are several ways that we can provide a gift to them the most notable of which is through a positive referral this referral can be given in several ways it can be given as a spontaneous offering when we are meeting people from the public or their name comes up in conversation we can provide a written testimonial for them at their request or we can go online to a social site where they have a profile and leave a positive comment or sentence or 2 there in terms of testimonials there are many things that we can say if we know the person well we can embellish upon what they do there the quality of their work the types of services they provide and how well we know they do if we don’t know about their work so well but we know that they are certified agent place specialist or have other training or a license of subtype as an occupational therapist assistive technology professional a certified general contractor a interior designer an architect or some other designations from which would speak to their training we can include that in our testimonial without any evidence of their work just knowing what is likely to be an we can speak about it in those terms More about this next time