Why Deal Gifts Matter

There’s more than one financial industry observer out there who believes that deal toys and gifts are frivolous, unnecessary artifacts of another time. Some banking leaders have even adopted this attitude, eschewing what has always been an important tradition in finance because they don’t believe that deal toys have any value. Though they might seem silly at times, deal gifts do matter. They’re a lot more than a piece of business pop art to put on display.

Deal gifts are about your organization’s core values. They’re about building meaningful relationships with clients and recognizing employees. Some might think that neither of these is central to a successful deal, but we think they’re simply wrong. After all, there are very few bankers out there who want to toil and sweat without being recognized for their hard work. Similarly, there aren’t many clients or cooperating businesses that want to be treated more like casual friends than trusted partners.

Deal Gifts to Impact Employee Recognition Programs

If you’re a seasoned pro in the finance or investment banking world, we bet you remember receiving your first deal toy. Maybe it was a classic Lucite and acrylic tombstone or a trinket shaped like the product you represented. It made an impact because it marked an important point in your professional life. You might never have felt that freshman rush of excitement again, but you surely got satisfaction from each deal gift you were awarded after that too.

So, why would it be any different for your employees? The idea that deal toys don’t matter or don’t have value is a little more cold-hearted than even a Wall Street giant needs to be. Everyone wants to be recognized for what they’ve done. Your employees put in hours upon hours of time making dream deals into reality. They deserve a little something that recognizes them and motivates them to keep doing good work. It’s good business, and it offers good returns.

If your employee recognition program is already strong, using deal toys as part of it is a good way to communicate value messages. Imagine you want to give deal toys to six employees who went above and beyond on a recent transaction. In addition to communicating the details of the achievement, the deal toy should embody what made that possible. It should be a physical metaphor for what you’d like to see all of your employees achieve. That might sound difficult to do, but we’ve mastered it here at Cristaux International.

Deal Gifts for Clients and Business Partners

For pessimists, it seems like the digital world has killed off traditional niceties such as sending thank you notes and selecting gifts for business partners. We don’t live in that pessimistic world. Instead, we focus on helping you build an optimistic future by honoring the people that have contributed to your success today. Want to recognize an executive at a partner organization who facilitated a huge merger? A deal gift is a great choice.

Yes, you could go with a plaque or certificate. But those are literally flat displays of your appreciation. There’s nothing about them that speaks to what was done. With a deal toy, you can ascend these boundaries. A deal gift can be a three-dimensional sculpture that actually embodies the deal. Giving one is a simple gesture that is always appreciated.

Continuing Traditions

After all, deal toys are a banking and finance tradition. Before they were the deal toys of today, they were the crystal bowls and brass tokens of previous centuries. Don’t give up on the practice of honoring big deals because you’ve heard it’s old fashioned. Pay the honor forward with help from Cristaux instead.