How Much Should An Executive Gift Cost?

Executive gifts are given to commemorate certain events, such as an employee's promotion, to celebrate the holidays, or to woo potential clients or give incentives to employees.  The amount that you spend on your executive gift should correspond with the occasion.

Let's say that you want to entice your salespeople to sell over a million dollars worth of widgets during the month of February.  In this event, you might have a first prize executive gift that's a new car, a second prize gift that is a paid vacation, and so forth. If you are in a high dollar industry and want to entice potential clients, you will probably want to give more expensive executive gifts.

For most companies, however, executive gifts in the $25-$100 range are tasteful.  These types of gifts could include clocks, watches, picture frames, artwork, wallets and other personal types of gifts.  Food and beverage baskets are always a favorite.  You can buy steak packages, fruit baskets, lobster, salmon or cheesecake. 

Allowing Choice with Gift Certificates

Gift certificates for fine restaurants and local book and gift stores make great executive gifts for employees during the holiday season. What is so nice about gift certificates is that your recipient can choose something that meets his or her taste or style.  On the other hand, gift certificates obviously should not be given for competing businesses!  Certificates might be problematic in that your employee knows exactly how much the gift is worth.

Save by Shopping Wholesale for Your Executive Gifts

You can buy artful and distinctive gifts at wholesale prices and save 40-60% over retail without your recipient knowing how much you paid.  If you have a lot of employees or customers, this is something to consider.

Make Your Executive Gifts Personal

The personal touch is more important than the price tag when it comes to giving executive gifts.  Find something that your client or employee will consider special.  A ballpoint pen is not necessarily special, but a basket of gourmet coffee samples would be very special.