Whoever said "it's not the gift that counts..." was cheap

The other day I played in a charity golf tournament at Salem Glen. It so happened that I won the long drive hole (a career first). At the end of the round I was awarded a prize donated by a Wealth Management brokerage house in town. The prize they gave me was a box of generic golf balls and an umbrella. Really! Seriously? What did they hope to accomplish here?

You do not need to be a golfer or care anything about the sport to understand the problem here. First of all, the participants of this event were some of the most prominent executives, entrepreneurs, and professionals in town, and you are going to give away a $10 box of golf balls probably picked up last-minute at Kmart? At least that is what the gift said to me.

When we give a gift, we are promoting ourselves, our company, or our organization. The perceived value of what we have to offer (product, service, self, etc.) is demonstrated by what we give and how we give it.

We must take advantage of this great opportunity to exceed the expectations of our audience and recipients. Then back it up. When we do this, we are on our way to becoming “remarkable.”