Want to Close More Deals With Male Prospects? Try Silly Socks

If you have been following my wonderfully witty and funny Mad Millennial column, you know about my Dec. 19, 2017 post: “How Flowers Can Help Close Deals.”

In that particular post, I talked about how I send flower bouquets with personalized notes to my female prospects. Sending flowers has been a great success. I have received nothing but positive feedback from my female prospects. But, what about male prospects?

I ended my December 19 article with a question: “What gift do I send men?” I received many suggestions from men who read my article. The suggestions ranged from “chocolate” to a “Safari in Africa.” Not much help. I was still at a loss.

Then, I went to dinner at my parents’ house. I brought my wonderful mom a bouquet of flowers, but had nothing for my dad. My dad answered the door wearing his loud, bright, orange-and-black San Francisco Giants socks. (He is a huge fan.) I hugged Dad and danced uncontrollably. “Dad, you’re a genius,” I exclaimed. Socks! Men love wild, crazy, loud, bold, fun, colorful socks.

Socks are the perfect gift, especially silly ones. 93 percent of the time (I did the research), socks are hidden from the world. And despite their clandestine nature, silly socks show individuality and humor, and they can be great ice breakers.

So, I gave it a try. A couple weeks ago, I sent 20 male prospects a small bag with a pair of funny socks with this note:

Here are just some of the socks I sent (thanks, Amazon!):

Credit: Amazon

Credit: Amazon

Credit: Amazon

Why am I telling you about my sock campaign?

I think it’s important to be unique and stand out. I recommend breaking out of your emailing and social media posting routine. Try mailing something tangible to your prospects. Be that different salesperson who sends something that can be held and touched, instead of deleted with the click of a button.

ROI from my campaign? It’s too soon to tell. Our team launched a follow-up email campaign with a funny meme. Perhaps “socks and a meme” will be our new, successful campaign slogan. We’re hoping to really get our feet off the ground. We’re hoping to knock the socks off our male prospects. We’re hoping … OK, enough of the smelly, old cliches about socks.