Your Holiday Greeting Sucks

I'm not trying to offend anyone, but you know who you are and I want you to please stop sending lame holiday greetings.

Tomorrow is the 4th of July. Holidays are a great opportunity to give your sphere a friendly hello and stay top of mind, but sending a picture of some fireworks with a one liner about how you love referrals isn't the way to make your database feel cared about.

Maybe you've never sent a holiday greeting at all. While I commend you for not using the holiday as a way to blatantly ask for referrals, you're missing out on a great opportunity to connect with your friends and family and stay top of mind.

Follow these steps and your holiday message will have more impact than you ever imagined.

1. Lose the pics of the flags and fireworks. I've already received six others from my dentist, my insurance agent and four other REALTORS®.
2. Stop asking me for referrals. It's a national holiday, not national I-love-referrals-day.
3. Ask questions. When you ask questions, people answer them. It's a great way to get a conversation started.
4. Treat your database like the friends and family they are. Take a minute to write something thoughtful. You'll be surprised the warm response you get to a thoughtful greeting.

Instead of using the holidays as a marketing opportunity, use them as a relationship opportunity. Those relationships will turn into plenty of referrals down the road. You won't even have to ask for them.

Try sending something like this:

Happy 4th of July. Did you know that fireworks were actually a part of the very first 4th of July celebration? Congress authorized them in 1777.

What is your favorite Independence Day tradition?

I hope you are well. Have a great day, and please let me know if you need anything.

To view the original article, visit Celeste Grupman on ActiveRain.