How to Influence Using Giving to Receive

(16419) Dave Lakhani says:

Look for little things you can give away as part of your persuasive efforts. The more unique the gift is, the more memorable it becomes and the greater the chances are it will be appreciated. Generic gifts are fine but collectible items — baseballs or color photos signed by celebrities for example — are even better. Quite simply when you give someone something memorable, they feel somewhat obligated to give you something in return, when is often their agreement to your proposal.

One of the tried and true ideas is to give people a free sample of your product or service. Or you might make a concession in a negotiation. Both of these gifts are good because the recipient won’t fall foul of any corporate guidelines forbidding them from accepting gifts of any kind.