Connecting with Clients: ‘Tis The Season

By Kim Gellatly

The holiday season can be a wonderful time to reach your clients in fun, memorable and festive ways.  Working hard during the fourth quarter to reach out to your clients can also help ensure you’ll have a great start to business in the first quarter of the new year.  Here are some of my favorite ways to connect with my network of clients during the holiday season:

Host a holiday-themed party or event. This Thanksgiving I had a pretty sweet idea that allowed me to see a large number of my clients without taking up too much time during what is always a busy season for me. I invited my clients to order a pumpkin pie—free of charge—at a local restaurant. I let them know that I would be there, handing out their pies on a specific day for exactly two hours. My “pie-giving” turned out to be a great way to interact with many of my clients in person … and they didn’t mind the added benefit of free pie!

Mail or email your clients about local holiday events. Too often a busy December means missing out on great community events to celebrate the season. Reminding your clients about what’s going on in your city or neighborhood not only allows them to participate in the fun but also positions you as a local-market expert with your finger on the pulse of what’s happening around town.

Schedule drop-ins with past clients or with your top referral sources. When you meet, be sure to bring something festive like a fresh wreath, a gourmet hot cocoa mix or a winter vegetable basket. A little goes a long way during the holiday season!

Send 2016 calendars to your client base and to prospective clients. There’s nothing quite like receiving a fresh, blank calendar as we say goodbye to the old and say hello to the start of a brand-new year.

There are countless more ways to connect (and reconnect) with client this time of year—partner with a local tree farm and mail out coupons to your clients, collaborate with a local charity to adopt a family for the holidays, conduct a toy drive—but no matter what you do, the spirit of giving and the joy of the season won’t soon be forgotten by your happy and holiday-ready clients!

Do you have any ideas to add? Feel free to share them in the comments below.

KIM GELLATLY is a national REthink Council member and REALTOR® with Portland-based Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate. Visit Kim’s website www.gellatlyproperties.com or email her: kim@gellatlyproperties.com.