If you're in sales or service occupations, then you know that one of your most valued assets is your client contact list. Every contact that you make is a prospective lead and as such should be highly valued. Used in the right way, promotional items and advertising gifts can be fantastic great lead generators. Here are five different ways to use promotional items and promotional products to assist in generating more business leads for your company:

1. Hand out small corporate giveaways liberally. Every person that you meet may end up being a customer, or leading you to a customer. Promotional items like printed pens or printed appointment calendars are useful to almost everyone. When you hand them out, you're increasing your visibility and increasing the chances that you'll reach customers.

2. Offer an attractive giveaway gift at a trade show, conference or seminar event to those who schedule a follow-up appointment for your sales force, or who leave their contact information. The promotional items that you choose should be scaled to the result that you want. Decide what a qualified lead is worth to you, and choose promotional items and promotional products that fit that price range. Some suggestions might be an imprinted torch or an embossed business card holder. Fit your promotional items to the audience you hope to attract. Want homeowners? Offer a gift that will appeal to homeowners.

3. Use a double gift strategy to get a pre-qualified list of prospects. Use direct mail to send out a teaser gift to a list of prospects with a promise of a larger gift when they respond to a specific offer. You might send out a direct mail with a promotional fridge magnet and a letter offering a free golf umbrella to anyone who books an appointment within thirty days of the mail. You'll be able to gauge the success of your direct mailing as well as garnering a list of qualified leads for sales appointments.

4. Use promotional items and gifts as incentives for your sales and lead generation team. Do you employ telemarketers or appointment setters? Offer a range of scaled promotional items for reaching certain levels of appointments and/or leads generated. Cash incentives as any sales director will tell you only go so far. Scaled marketing merchandise incentives give prestige along with the prize.

5. Offer a printed promotional gift to existing customers and clients for referring you to other customers. You might offer a higher value incentive for any referrals that lead to a sale.

Those are only a few of the ideas that you can use to generate fresh leads using promotional items and promotional business gifts. If you're looking for more ideas, you can always check with an expert in promotional items. Many online sites that sell promotional items have expert consultants who can help you come up with promotional plans and schemes to help you publicize your business and maximize the available opportunity.

For more information on advertising promotional products, marketing business gifts, advertising gifts and promotional items check out the leading online promotional gift suppliers today!