If you’re in sales, you know that getting a prospect’s attention is half the battle. A well-timed, thoughtful gift can open doors—but manually sending swag, coffee vouchers, or handwritten notes is a huge time suck. That’s where Reachdesk comes in. This guide is for sales teams who want to automate prospect gifting, keep it personal, and avoid the common pitfalls (like wasted budget or spammy outreach).
Let’s cut through the fluff and walk through exactly how to use Reachdesk to make automated gifting work for your sales workflow.
1. Figure Out Why You’re Gifting (And Who Actually Deserves It)
Before you even sign up for Reachdesk or start picking out branded mugs, stop and ask: what’s the point? Not every lead needs a gift, and blasting out generic swag to everyone is a fast way to waste money.
Get clear on: - Which stages of your sales funnel make sense for gifting (e.g., after a demo? After a no-show? On deal close?) - Who gets gifts—qualified prospects only, or everyone? - What you’re actually trying to achieve (book meetings, revive stalled deals, say thanks, etc.)
Pro tip: If you’re not sure where to start, run a small test. Pick one stage (like post-demo) and see if gifting moves the needle. Don’t overcomplicate it.
2. Set Up Your Reachdesk Account the Right Way
You’ll need a Reachdesk account, obviously. Most companies will want the Salesforce or HubSpot integration, but you can also use it standalone or connect with other tools via Zapier.
Basic setup steps:
- Create your account (admin will need to invite users)
- Connect your CRM (if you want automated triggers)
- Add team members (control who can send gifts and set budget limits)
- Set up budgets per user or team—this is key for avoiding “whoops, we spent $2,000 on cookies” moments.
Things to watch for: - CRM integration setup can be fiddly. Make sure your fields (like prospect address) are mapped right. - Don’t skip the budget controls. It’s easy for gifting costs to spiral if everyone’s got free rein.
3. Build Out Your Gift Catalog (Don’t Just Default to Swag)
Reachdesk offers a marketplace of gifts—e-gift cards, snacks, physical items, charity donations, and more. You can also send your own company-branded items.
How to pick gifts that don’t feel like spam: - Mix it up. Not everyone wants another water bottle. - E-gift cards are safe, but personal touches (local coffee, books, or a handwritten note) go further. - Use “gift links” when you don’t have the prospect’s address. They choose where to send it.
Skip this: Over-branded, cheap swag. If it screams “vendor junk drawer,” don’t send it.
Pro tip: Survey your sales team for what’s actually landed meetings in the past. Build your gift catalog around those.
4. Create Automated Campaigns (The Real Power Move)
Here’s where things get interesting. Reachdesk lets you set up triggers so gifts go out automatically based on CRM activity. This is way better than relying on reps to remember (or care).
Common automation examples: - Send a coffee voucher after a demo is booked. - Trigger a small gift if a prospect goes cold after a key meeting. - Celebrate a contract signature with a “thank you” package.
How to do it: 1. Define your trigger in your CRM (e.g., Opportunity stage changed to “Demo Booked”). 2. Set up the corresponding Reachdesk campaign. Choose the gift, write a short note (keep it real, not salesy), set budget limits. 3. Test it—make sure the right people get the right gifts at the right time.
What to avoid: - Over-automating. If a prospect gets three gifts in a week, you look desperate (and weird). - Generic messages. “Hope you enjoy this!” is forgettable. Personalize, even if it’s just one line.
5. Personalize Without Losing Your Sanity
Automation’s great, but nobody likes a gift that feels like it came from a robot. Reachdesk lets you pre-set messages, but you can also let reps tweak them before sending.
Tips: - Encourage reps to add a personal note—reference something you discussed, or a shared interest. - Don’t force personalization for every send; pick your moments (big deals, strategic accounts). - If you’re sending at scale, use merge fields (like first name or company), but keep the rest of the message human.
What works: A short, honest message that connects the gift to the conversation. What doesn’t: Overly clever copy or obvious sales pitches.
6. Track Results—But Don’t Get Lost in Vanity Metrics
Reachdesk gives you analytics: sent, delivered, redeemed, ROI estimates, etc. This is useful, but don’t let the dashboard become the whole point.
What to actually pay attention to: - Do gifting campaigns lead to more meetings, faster responses, or bigger deals? - Are certain gifts or messages working better than others? - Are you seeing any “gift fatigue” (prospects ignoring offers, or even complaining)?
Ignore this: Obsessing over open rates or delivery stats if they aren’t tied to real sales outcomes.
Pro tip: Share wins and fails in your sales meetings. If a certain campaign is flopping, kill it fast.
7. Stay on the Right Side of Ethics (and Company Policy)
This is the unsexy part, but it matters. Not every company (or prospect) can accept gifts, and some industries have strict rules.
Checklist: - Know your own company’s gift policy—set Reachdesk budgets and approvals to match. - For big deals or regulated industries (finance, healthcare, government), check before sending anything. - If in doubt, stick to small-value items or charity donations.
Skip this: Anything that feels like bribery, or could embarrass your prospect.
8. Common Pitfalls (And How to Dodge Them)
Let’s be honest: automated gifting can backfire if you’re not careful. Here’s what to watch out for.
The usual suspects: - Spray-and-pray gifting: Don’t send gifts just because you can. Be targeted. - No address? No gift. Use “gift links” so the recipient can enter their info. Don’t guess or use outdated CRM data. - Overcomplicating campaigns: Start simple. One or two well-executed automations beat a tangled mess of triggers. - Ignoring feedback: If prospects say “thanks, but please don’t send this stuff,” respect that.
9. Keep it Simple and Iterate
You don’t need a 10-step nurture sequence with five different gifts. Start small. Pick one or two moments in your sales process where gifting makes sense, automate those, and see what happens.
If you’re getting good results, expand. If not, tweak or stop. The goal isn’t to “do gifting”—it’s to start better conversations and close more deals, without creating more work for yourself.
Bottom line: Automated gifting with Reachdesk can be a real win for sales teams, but only if you stay focused, keep it personal, and use common sense. Don’t let the tech get in the way of being human.
Now—go send something worth remembering.