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Perhaps the simplest answer is the best one: promotional products work. Promotional product advertising campaigns are simple to get started and they are highly effective.

A 2007 survey of 800 business travelers found that over seventy percent of them had received a promotional product in the past year or so. Of that group, more than three quarters of them could remember the name of the company that gave them the item.

More importantly, the survey found that customers who had received promotional gifts were more likely to purchase something from the company. More than half of them said that they had actually purchased something after having received the promotional item. Those who didn’t make a purchase stated that they were more inclined to make a purchase from the advertiser.

Lastly, but not least, the survey discovered that more than half of those who had received promotional items had a favorable impression of the company.

Last Monday, having started to settle for the night, I wasn’t able to get off to sleep in my usual head down and mental lights out fashion. Why? Because I was hearing a persistent drip, drip. Must have left a tap running I thought as I grudgingly got out of bed. No, there was water coming through the ceiling from the apartment above mine.

No problem, I thought. It’s just the odd drip now and then. I got out a bucket to collect the water and went back to bed. After a while I was able to ‘not hear’ the drips and drifted off to sleep.

What seemed like seconds later, but was actually in the early hours of the morning I was woken by what sounded like my shower running. Now the drips were a torrent and I had to do something about it. To cut a long story short, I woke my neighbour – grumble, grumble and as a precautionary measure we turned the water off.

SPEAK AS A LEADER – ELIMINATE REGRET

Leaders are known by their leadership behavior. Since communication is behavior, it is safe to say that language choices either promote or negate personal leadership. Language choices also create or negate relationships. A leader is worthy of being followed – due in part to the business knowledge and acumen and due in greater part to his or her ability to establish and sustain strong relationships. How often do we make choices that limit us and box us into a victim place rather than a leadership place?

The Language of Limits: Regret

“If only I had…”

“I always…”

“I shoulda…”

“I coulda…”

“I woulda…”

Many of us use these language choices on a daily basis. Can you hear how limiting they are? This is how we speak and yet we expect people to follow.