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Do you have a drawer like this in your office?

By Barbara S. Duncan

Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Advantage

April 20, 2008 03:16 AM

souvenir drawer

Conventions are so much fun. You go around the convention center exhibit hall and they give you freebies! You have so many freebies that you are loaded down. Now when we fly home from convention we may have to pay extra for luggage!

Then bankers come by your office and give you mugs and planners and key chains and all kinds of freebies.

Then home inspectors come by and give you candies and freebies.

I love every one of these things and end up sticking them in a drawer for further use. (Except the food; I eat it or someone else does!) My favorites over the years have probably been those things that you use to grasp a jar to open and those things that clasp your potato chip bag together.

I personally have bought personalized pens to give out but forget to give them out. I'm just wondering whether all those freebies pay off. They are expensive to buy and when you give out hundreds it has to run up into lots of dollars. I can't say that I ever dug through my stash looking for a referral name. So if you've had success with these gifts, let us know.

freebie drawer

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Ryan Vivo

Gateway Realty - Fairfield, CA

NRBA Realtor Solano County, Gateway Realty 707-384-5894

The first company I worked for had a drawer full of freebies. I also never looked to contact someone because of them.

Apr 20, 2008 03:56 AM

Brad Taylor, REALTOR® for Toledo, Ohio

DiSalle Real Estate Co. - Toledo, OH

Give me a good deal and save your money on give aways.

Apr 20, 2008 04:02 AM

Ron Tarvin

Residential, Investment properties, rehab projects, property management, luxury homes, new construction! - Katy, TX

Broker, Katy, Houston, Cypress 77450,77494,77095

Well, let's see. How many times have I taken a listing when the seller's fridge was covered with other agent's magnets and sports schedules and....even had one that had another agent's pen while signing listing papers. hmmmmm.

Apr 20, 2008 04:43 AM

Charles Buell

Charles Buell Inspections Inc. - Seattle, WA

Seattle Home Inspector

Other than creating a little more name recognition I can't imagine how valuable these sorts of giveaways are----almost impossible to calulate pure cost effectivness. Mostly a waste of natural resources:)

Apr 20, 2008 07:49 AM

Dan Homan

Coldwell Banker Ellison Realty, Inc - Ocala, FL

They say half your marketing budget is wasted, you just don't know which half. I think your drawer does give us a clue. Thanks for a great post.

Apr 20, 2008 08:28 AM

Barbara S. Duncan

RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR

GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Tony, I love that screw-driver slogan. Thanks for sharing.

Jo, you are probably right. Hand those things over personally. But how many mugs can a person use? BTW mugs don't fit in my drawer. They get donated to Goodwill after a real build-up.

Ryan, you inherited a drawer. LOL

Brad, I sorta agree with you. Most freebies are a waste of money. However, there is one bank in Searcy who has given out green pens for years. I think they are the BEST pens made. I carry one all the time. They know it and keep me supplied even if they change their style.

Ron Tarvin's Katy Team, you give good service, not good magnets! LOL

Charles, what do you give away as freebies? From a home inspector, I like a professionally done brochure or even not so professional so that I can give it to the one shopping for the inspector. I just had an inspector get the business because he offered a 3 month warranty! How do you think he did that?

Dan, I truly DO love my drawer and fully intend to use everything in there! Someday! Soon!

Apr 20, 2008 09:18 AM

Carol Culkin

Diamond Partners Inc - Overland Park, KS

Overland Park Residential Real Estate

That's a lot of stuff in your drawer - maybe you need a stager to organize all that!

Apr 20, 2008 09:25 AM

Charles Buell

Charles Buell Inspections Inc. - Seattle, WA

Seattle Home Inspector

Barbara, I give away a lot of business cards and invites to Active Rain:) I am thinking of doing pens at some point---I have been thinking about it for 4 years though:) There are warranty programs that home inspectors can buy into or by associating with some of the Security systems companies---they are basically meaningless in my opinion. With warranty programs you "get what you pay for"---what can I say about free ones:) This has to be the most smileys I have used in a single comment:)

Apr 20, 2008 09:32 AM

Barbara S. Duncan

RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR

GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Carol, you are on target. A stager would get that drawer looking color coordinated in a jiffy.

Charles, the business cards are okay but better if attached to the brochure, which is harder to get lost in my drawer. The warranty got him the business but I didn't try to analyze it. You are a smiley person:) but yours are more distinct than most!

Apr 20, 2008 10:06 AM

Gary Woltal

Keller Williams Realty - Flower Mound, TX

Assoc. Broker Realtor SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

Barbara, how'd you get that hidden camera in my office to take that photo of my drawer? You are so on the mark with this one. My wife always says get rid of all this junk except the stuff she steals from me that she likes : )

Apr 20, 2008 04:15 PM

Cristal Drake

Prudential California Realty - Fullerton, CA

Realtor - Fullerton Real Estate

Funny responses. I love the "call us or screw it up yourself" that is so good! I like things I can use. Mint tins are one of my faves. They are just good little reminders.

Apr 20, 2008 04:24 PM

Alan Brown

Coldwell Banker Realty - Davenport, FL

34 Years of Real Estate Experience .

Oh ye..looks very similar to something in my office

Apr 21, 2008 05:23 AM

Mary PAUL, ABR, CRS,GRI, e-PRO,

RE/MAX Advantage Realtors, Searcy, AR - Searcy, AR

Barbara,

That is a great post! You can write about anything!! I like freebies too! I don't buy them, I don't think they have any benefit.

Apr 21, 2008 07:45 AM

Anonymous

Gary, I figured we all have a collection of this stuff. Those who have little kids usually take it home to them. My friend Larry had three little kids so when we went to conventions we tried to get a bag full of freebies for each kid. They loved them.

Cristal, I too love that one. And I don't have one.

Alan, betcha you don't have as many as I do. LOL

Mary, how many freebies do you have. You ought to collect them also!

Apr 21, 2008 09:43 AM

#16

Barbara S. Duncan

RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR

GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Well, Gary, Cristal, Alan and Mary, I just learned something. I commented on your comments but I wasn't signed in, forgot to put my name in the blank and then was unable to edit it! Therefore, there is no way to know who wrote the comment!

Apr 21, 2008 09:46 AM

Gene Allen

Fathom Realty - Cary, NC

Realty Consultant for Cary Real Estate

Some of that stuff is actually useful but I have never seen a prospect with any of it.

Apr 21, 2008 09:57 AM

Barbara S. Duncan

RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR

GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Gene, I really do love all of it. That's why I kept it. But I fear I never gave any of those generous people any of my business. And it is expensive to buy.

Apr 21, 2008 10:02 AM

Kathy Fisher

Parker Properties - Decatur, TX

Realtor Wise County Texas

What are ya'll talking about?? I HAVE TWO OF THOSE DRAWERS!! One at home and one at my office. AND, by the way, do any of you have a "Smart Drawer"?

I DO!! I took a marketing class a couple of years ago and the teacher was just giving out SO much good information and I was writing down just as fast as I could. I had noticed so many others in the class were doing the same thing. FINALLY, someone asked why don't you have a hand out with all this great information on it? She just laughed and then responded, " I don't have hand outs because I figure there are enough smart drawers in the world." The gentleman that had asked about the hand out asked what she had meant by that. What she said next made all the sense in the world. She was not going to give us hand outs to just wind up in our desk drawers. The drawers weren't going to read the information and WE were never going to look at that hand out again in LIFE!

I'm guilty, how about you?

Apr 21, 2008 11:05 AM

Barbara S. Duncan

RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR

GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Kathy, that's a funny story. I do have another drawer at home in my kitchen. It is filled with all kinds of junk from home and the kitchen plus freebies. But I never heard of us putting the handouts in a drawer. He had it well figured out and saved himself a lot of copies and trouble. Thanks for reading my blog.

Apr 21, 2008 01:09 PM

Scott Hoen

Carson City, NV

Carson City Clerk Recorder / Public Administrator

Give out items that have are valued and will not be thrown away -- a personalized calendar with the homeowners house will be valued all year round and not thrown away -- a CD with a home presentation your trying to sell given away at a open house -- give away value and it won't be thrown away -- similar to your drawer -- the trick is to give something that has your brand and gets used.

Sep 01, 2008 04:41 PM