Top 10 Creative and Affordable Ways to Entertain Clients
Written for the Realogics Sotheby’s Int. Realty blog
Visit the published article here
If your standard method of entertaining clients is taking them out to dinner, it may be time for a shift in how you do business. According to Emily Beare, a luxury real estate agent in New York, “The luxury market is changing. More creative types are snapping up high-end real estate.” To appeal to these clients and win their business, it’s time to get creative. Below are 10 ideas that can get you out of the nice-dinner mold and into more creative and authentic territory.
#1 Host a wine dinner at your home
This is the perfect way to introduce clients to local wines and the community. Bring in a local wine expert as a keynote speaker and pair the expert’s suggestions with food from your region. Make sure to find out about dietary restrictions beforehand.
#2 Get moving
Bonds made during physical activity can be powerful, especially if your clients enjoy the great outdoors. Find out what their preferred activity is and then enjoy it with them. Maybe it’s a local hike or road biking on a nearby island. Make sure to find a cool coffee shop along the way for some dedicated conversation time.
#3 Showcase the community
Stay up-to-date with what’s going on in your community and invite clients to local events such as concerts in the park or food festivals. Getting people connected with the best your community has to offer can make them clients for life. For a listing of events in the Greater Seattle area, click here.
#4 Offer an introduction
Put a new spin on the typical client dinner by choosing a great local restaurant for your meal and then introducing your clients to the owner. Have the owner select a bottle of wine or say a few words about house specials, as well as how the restaurant was started.
#5 Invite a client to a charity event you support
This is an excellent way to show your clients another side of your life and passions, as well as engage in some heart-warming entertainment. Besides supporting a great cause, you’ll be building a more well-rounded relationship with your clients. Tickets are often tax deductible.
#6 Organize a happy hour
Get more exposure and light-hearted conversation with your clients by meeting at a local happy hour and trading social media posts for free drinks. It works like this: everyone who tweets on-site or posts a message to Facebook and mentions you or your business gets a free glass of wine or sangria. Switch locations often to sample the best of what the city has to offer for happy hours. To find the perfect place, click here.
#7 Deliver a treat
If you’ve got a special dish or baked item that everyone raves about, make one and send it to your client with a nice, hand-written note. You can be sure they’ll be thinking of you long after the last cookie has been eaten.
#8 Hold a meeting in an unexpected location
Instead of meeting in the office, take things outside on a sunny day. Hold a gourmet picnic in the park or go on a walk-and-talk in a beautiful area of town. The Arboretum has wonderful walking paths and benches for just this purpose.
#9 Brew and bond
If you have a client who really enjoys beer, take them to a local brewery for a tour and tasting. Redhook Brewing in Woodinville is great for this. Tours cost only $1 and include several tastings. They’re also highly entertaining, full of jokes, and lots of fun.
#10 Throw a theme party
If you’re feeling the need for some glamour, follow the advice of Raymond Bolduc, a Sotheby’s International Realty agent in Florida. He hosts events at the homes he’s selling as a way to advertise the properties and bring in potential buyers, as well as network with existing clients. He suggests matching the theme to the profile of the house and featuring artwork or other luxury commodities during the event.
The sky is the limit when it comes to options for entertaining your clients. Get creative, get thoughtful, and most importantly, just get started. The rest will take care of itself.