Referral Marketing: Holiday Referrals!

The holidays are such a wonderful time of year for me! I love sharing festivities with family and friends. At this time of year, I could easily find myself at a holiday party at least 2-3 times per week! For someone that practices and teaches networking, it presents huge opportunities for finding referrals for my network.

I find that the trick is simple ... listen ... really listen to what people are talking about at the holidays. Many, many times, they'll be complaining about something. Maybe their furnace isn't working well, maybe they need to get their carpets cleaned before their big party, maybe their teenager just turned 16 and will be driving soon, or maybe their starting to dream about retirement. All of these are referral opportunities for people I know, like and trust. Of course, I also need to be educated enough to then know what to say to these people if I hear them express their complaints or needs.

That being said, when you're at the holiday parties this year ... keep BOTH ears open and listen for phrases that start with:

"I wish ..."
"I can't stand ..."

"I'm so frustrated ..."

"It makes me nervouse that ..."

"If only I could ..."

The holidays are a time of GIVING! What's better than giving referrals to your network! I'm taking 5 referrals to my BNI chapter this week!!

In case you're wondering, this photo is from Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, outside of Philadephia!