Quick Summary
Holiday parties are some of the best relationship-building opportunities a salesperson gets all year. At your company party, connect with leadership and people outside your usual circle, decide your drink limit ahead of time, and remember that anything caught on a phone can end up online. At client and industry events, focus on the relationship, and leave with a reason to follow up in January.
Key Takeaways
- Treat every holiday party as a chance to build relationships.
- Introduce yourself to leaders and to people outside your team.
- Decide your drink limit before you arrive, and assume someone is always taking photos.
- At client events, skip the pitch and invest in the relationship.
- Follow up within a week and book your January meetings.
Why Holiday Parties Matter for Salespeople
Holiday parties put you in a room with people you rarely get time with: senior leaders, colleagues from other departments, and the clients you work with all year. Most people treat the party as a night off or time to blow off steam. As a salesperson, it’s an opportunity to build the right relationships and get ahead for the next year.
Holiday Party Etiquette Basics
These apply whether it’s your company’s party or a client’s:
- Arrive within the first half hour, and stay long enough to talk with the people who matter.
- Introduce yourself to anyone you don’t know, and use their name.
- Keep your phone in your pocket unless you’re exchanging contact information.
- Thank the host before you leave.
- Leave before the party gets sloppy.
How to Make the Most of Your Company Holiday Party
Talk With Leadership
For many salespeople, especially on remote or hybrid teams, the holiday party is one of the only times all year you’ll be in the same room as senior leaders. Introduce yourself, thank them for the year, and ask what they’re most excited about for next year. Keep it short and genuine. The goal is simply to make sure they know who you are.
Connect Beyond Your Usual Circle
At most parties, people stick with the coworkers they already know. Use the night to break out of that. Spend time with the people you only work with over email or in passing, like the operations lead who keeps your orders moving or the customer success rep who handles your accounts after the sale. A real conversation outside of work deepens those relationships, and it makes it much easier to ask for help when a deal needs it.
Decide Your Drink Limit Before You Walk In
An open bar makes it easy to lose track. Decide before you arrive whether you’ll drink and how much, and stick to it. One or two drinks, alternated with water, keeps you sharp for the conversations you came to have. If you’d rather not drink at all, a club soda with lime is a great alternative.
Assume Someone Is Taking Photos
Phones are everywhere at holiday parties, and photos and videos end up on social media fast. Before you do or say anything, ask yourself whether you’d be comfortable seeing it posted online or showing up in a client’s feed.
Read the Room Before You Talk Shop
Some leaders want a break from business at the party, and others love talking shop. Follow their lead. If a leader asks about your year, have one short win ready to share, like a deal you’re proud of or something you learned that changed how you sell. Keep it to a minute, then ask about their year. If the conversation stays personal, keep it there.
How to Work Client and Industry Holiday Events
Client appreciation events, vendor parties, and industry mixers mix business and personal. Business will come up, and that’s fine. What doesn’t belong is a pitch. Use these events to deepen your relationships, and save the sales conversation for January.
Get to Know Your Clients
Use the time to learn about the people you work with: their families, their holiday plans, and what made their year hard or great. Remember what they tell you. Those details make your next conversation warmer and give you a natural reason to reach out in January.
Meet the Rest of the Account
Client events often put you in the room with people beyond your main contact, including their boss and colleagues in other departments. Introduce yourself. The more relationships you have inside an account, the safer that account is when your main contact changes jobs.
Ask for Introductions
If a client mentions someone who could use your help, ask whether they’d be willing to introduce you after the holidays. A conversation at a holiday event is one of the most natural places to ask for referrals.
Send Your Clients a Handwritten Card
A handwritten holiday card stands out in a December full of automated emails. Keep it short and personal, mention something specific from your year together, and leave out any sales message. Send it early in December so it arrives before the holiday rush.
Follow Up After the Party
The conversations only pay off if you build on them. Within a week, send a short note to the leaders and clients you connected with. Mention something specific you talked about, and for clients, suggest a time to meet in January. Booking those meetings now gives you a head start on the first quarter.
The relationships you build this month set you up for next year, and having clear goals helps you make the most of them. Our FREE Goal Planning Guide walks you through setting those goals, building the plan to hit them, and putting real deadlines on them.
Common Questions Salespeople Ask About Holiday Parties
Decide before you arrive whether you’ll drink and how much. One or two drinks, alternated with water, keeps you sharp. If you’d rather not drink, a club soda with lime is a good alternative.
Follow the other person’s lead. If a leader or client wants to talk shop, share one short win, then ask about their year. If the conversation stays personal, keep it there. Save sales conversations for a follow-up meeting.
Focus on the relationship. Learn about your clients as people, meet others in their organization, and ask for introductions if they mention someone who could use your help.
Arrive early enough to meet the people who matter, introduce yourself and use people’s names, keep your phone away, thank the host, and leave before the party gets sloppy.
Within a week, send a short, personal note to the leaders and clients you connected with. Mention something specific from your conversation, and suggest a meeting in January for clients.
