The corporate incentive gift discount options available to you depend on what you need, how many you need and who you are buying from. Most corporate gift dealers offer tiered pricing based on the volume of items you order. For example, golf towels may be sold in quantities of:

10-49 units – $5.00 each
50-99 units – $4.50
100-249 units – $4.00
250-499 unties – $3.00
500+ – $2.00 each

So an instant corporate incentive gift “discount” comes by virtue of buying a larger quantity.

Other ways you can get discounts on corporate gift incentives and promotional products is looking for seasonal specials and clearance items. In some cases, you may be able to order individual product samples at the lowest pricing tier.

You no doubt will want some degree of customization of your incentive, with corporate branding / logo / phone number / tagline etc. Various ways of personalizing these gifts include silkscreen printing, embroidery, embossing and engraving, which adds to the unit costs. You may find it more cost effective to order blank products from a distributor and have your items customized by another company who can offer the personalization for less. And depending on your quantity needs and the terms of the distributor or wholesaler you are dealing with, you may have to seek out your own printer/embosser etc. if personalization is only available for orders in larger quantities.

Small Business Credit Card Benefits

Many new small business owners do not have a credit card account specific to their business. They might use a personal credit card to make business related purchases every now and then, but the majority of new business owners overlook the value a business credit card may provide to their business.

There are many reasons why a small business owner would benefit from having a credit card account specifically reserved for their business use. First, though, let’s discuss the typical reasons why a small business owner would avoid a credit card!

Top 6 Reasons Small Businesses DON’T Have Credit Cards

1) Business owner is afraid that they will overspend if they have access to a credit card.
2) Business owner thinks it’s complicated to apply for and receive a credit card under the business name, or feel they don’t have strong enough credit to get one.
3) Business owner thinks finance charges and interest rates will be expensive and cost more money than the convenience of having a credit card is worth.
4) Small businesses don’t make enough purchases to require a credit card.
5) Business owner likes the control over spending by employees when a check or cash has to be issued for purchases.
6) Business owner applied for one and was denied.

Is the reason your small business doesn’t have a credit card found on this list? If so, you might be surprised how the benefits of having a credit card for your business can help propel your business forward.

Credit Card Benefits for the Small Business Owner

While many of the reasons small business owners decide not to get a credit card for their businesses are valid, there are many advantages to the businesses that do decide to get a credit card.

When you make all of your business purchases and pay for each expense related to the company on a single credit card, you have an easier time with your bookkeeping. You can simply refer to your credit card statement each month, or on a quarterly or annual basis in order to see your purchases and expenses at a glance. You can cut one check each month to pay for all of the purchases, making it much easier to manage your business checking account, also.

Having a company credit card allows you to get additional cards in key employee names. If your office manager handles the office supply purchases, you can give her a card to make those purchases with, for example. There is less time required of you to approve or deny his or her orders and no need to cut a check when the manager is ready to place the order. Simply give the employees with cards a spending allowance and you can quickly monitor the spending of each employee by glancing at the card statements.

If you select a credit card for your business that offers a rewards program, you will benefit further by achieving the rewards under that benefit. As a business owner, you would decide if you have reason to purchase airline tickets, or if you would benefit better from a card with cash back or special merchandise purchases with the points you’ve earned.

Having business credit cards opens the door to many opportunities for your business that you wouldn’t have if you avoided having a card. Be sure to take these benefits and advantages in consideration when deciding whether or not to apply for a business credit card. If you fear your business credit isn’t strong enough for a card at this time, you can opt for a prepaid card or a secured credit card to build your company credit history. You’ll still receive all of the benefits and conveniences of a credit card, you’ll just need to take the extra step of funding a prepaid card before you can use it.

At CreditorWeb you can apply for a credit card with ease using the Best Credit Cards tool.

Help your team bond on your next corporate retreat with team building icebreakers:
Chartcourse Icebreakers
About.com Icebreakers and Energizers
Wilderdom Games and Icebreakers
Businessballs Team Building Games
Training Games.com’s Free Ice Breakers

When an employee receives acknowledgement for a job well-done from management, colleagues or customers, he or she feels good about his or her self. This “Social Reinforcement” is a very important motivator for employee performance, and job satisfaction.

Using non-cash incentives make it more socially acceptable to acknowledge rewards by peers. For example, if Jennifer is awarded a weekend getaway as a bonus for top sales, Monday morning, the whole office will be buzzing asking her if she enjoyed herself. It won’t be office taboo for her to talk about the trip, and won’t be as uncomfortable as if someone were to ask her about a cash incentive like a salary increase.

Incentives that are not expendable like cash, dinners or vacations, also serve as reminders to the recipient about his or her performance. Items that are useful such as televisions, mp3 players, dinnerware or sporting equipment are good examples that provide “trophy value.”

Trophy-like awards also encourage family and friends to give positive reinforcement. Things that the family can enjoy or friends can see. On the other hand, cash awards are likely to be spent on what the recipient would normally purchase anyway. Others are less likely to make the connection between a cash reward and the resulting item.

Even if you can’t afford to whisk your top performers away to Europe on a private jet, you can still reward your employees with incentive travel that they can enjoy.

Incentive travel can be group or individual. If you can afford to send your team away on a teambuilding retreat, it doesn’t have to be far away. Campsites and resorts, even a day on a chartered boat can create a memorable experience. For individuals, it’s a better idea to send your recipient somewhere exotic enough to be memorable. If possible, allowing a spouse or children to accompany your employee is also a good idea.

An employee incentive getaway generally lasts from three nights to a full week, but weekend getaways can also work for smaller budgets. Accommodation could be in a bed and breakfast. Check travel and hotel websites often to catch their “travel best bets.”

It’s easy to send gift certificates as an e-mail or an e-card, or distribute physical gift certificates through the mail to employees and customers and give them the freedom to choose from millions of products.

Choose Corporate Gift Certificates for orders over $5000, or Regular Amazon Gift Certificates for orders under $5,000.

Gourmet Chocolate of the Month Club

Reinforce employee recognition each month, or stay forefront in that top client’s mind with a new gourmet chocolate package each month. Hand made from world class chocolatiers like Grand Cru, Skilligs’ Champagne Fizz Truffles from Ireland, Avo Filo’s Portuguese Chocolami and Chocolates of Vermont, named “The Best in the Country” by the New York Times. Infused with nuts, spices, teas and more. $539.40.

When you run an employee recognition program, you want to make sure that it motivates all employees to perform at their best, not create more problems like rumors about favoritism or unfair rewarding processes. The following tips can help you avoid water cooler angst:

1. Establish set criteria for what contribution or performance improvements, behaviors and actions are considered rewardable.

2. Create a program where all employees are equally eligible for recognition within a given department, branch or managerial level.

3. Make sure employers and employees both understand what actions and behaviors are considered in the evaluation and reward selection process.

4. Award all employees who meet the criteria or performance standards.

5. Recognize successful employees as soon as possible after the behavior or action is performed as to reinforce the good behavior.

6. Avoid systems that allow management to select winners based on anything other than performance criteria.

7. Avoid criteria that is overly subjective in nature such as “friendliness.”

8. Provide ongoing opportunities for other employees to succeed in the program.

9. Provide feedback for all employees under evaluation on a regular basis.

Caviar Wishes Gift Basket

Impressive luxury gift basket includes 2 oz. each of Imperial Beluga Caviar imported from Russia, Imperial Ossetra Caviar, American Paddlefish Caviar, Russian Sevruga Caviar and Alaskan Salmon Roe. Plus Russian Style Blini (32), Carr’s Table Water Crackers, Creme Fraiche, Petit Toasts and 2 mother of pearl caviar spoons. $599.95.

Decadent Gourmet Gift Basket

Impress top-notch clients and reward your best employees with a decadent collection of sweet and savory treats including zesty cheese straws, chocolate delights, candies, savory crackers with gourmet cheese, roasted nuts, key lime treats, a variety of cookies, pretzels and more. Over 3 feet high! $505.00