By attending holiday parties with good cheer, and in the spirit of the event, you have a strong potential for finding new clients. The ambience produces the best of both business and personal conversations combined.
In any business or career situation you will want to know something about the other person that's a bit more personal than just referring to the bottom line. For example, you might ask:
- How long have you been working here?
- Where did you work prior?
- What is your favorite element of your work and why?
These questions lend insight to the person behind the official title. When you strive to build relationships and get to know people personally, you have an advantage of knowing how to sell to them as well as forming a long-term partnership. The above questions are easily adaptable to those you meet at holiday parties. Begin by asking, "What type of work do you do?"
For job seekers, this is a great time of year and approach for finding your next new job. By having the friendly conversation, you just might meet the person who knows of the company wanting someone with your skills and will soon be provided an offer of introduction.
A great ice-breaker for meeting new people is to ask their plans for the holidays .
Everyone likes talking about personal plans, and it's rare that anyone else truly wants to listen. By doing so, you distinguish yourself from everyone else and are soon recognized for having a very friendly personal brand.
The key sales relationship building strategy is to be genuinely interested and ask questions . Authenticity is the keyword surrounding this. If you have absolutely no interest in what the other person has to say, at the first opportunity, simply smile, wish them a happy holiday season and move on to meet the next guest.
Participating at holiday parties in this manner will lead you to those with whom you do feel synergy. Quite often you will meet people in complementary industries or who might have answers to your questions. Upon recognizing this, your best question is to ask is, "Would you be interested in meeting for coffee one day to find how we might help one another?"
This last question has produced a 100% acceptance rate. After all, wouldn't you accept an invitation to find ways someone else could help you?
The follow-up meeting has a few strings attached too but friendly ones.
1. Wait to order coffee and food until the other person arrives
2. Ask the other person what they would like, and offer to pay
3. Say something nice about the party and then delve into the business portion of your meeting
When you least expect it, the right connections for job, career and business is found. It's because people see the relaxed you enjoying life. This is the relaxed approach to the Smooth Sale!