I am often asked what kind of client appreciation events are the most successful. I am a big fan of client appreciation events because they give you an opportunity to reconnect with your past clients. It is a time to celebrate your clients and to thank them for their business and loyalty.

I have helped agents plan and hold dozens of different types of events and I enjoy helping an agent find the right type of event for their personality and clientele. While most events include a nice venue, good food and some form of a program, they all can be an extremely powerful way of connecting with a lot of clients at once.

Of all the client appreciation event ideas I have helped implement, the one that I felt was the most powerful for making strong re-connections was the community service client appreciation event. This type of event model includes doing something good for the community and inviting your clients to join you.

When I was actively selling in my market, we had a local food bank that had been broken into. There was a lot of damage done to the food bank; the place was left a mess and the food had been stolen. I was horrified when I found this out and I wanted to make a difference. I contacted my local supermarket and asked them for a donation. Instead the manager stepped up and additionally worked out a significant discount which allowed people to buy food for the food bank.

I made a flyer not expecting much to happen. I was shocked at what happened next. My flyer read:

You may or may not know that our local food bank was burglarized and left with no food. I invite you to meet me this coming Saturday morning at our local grocery store. The Grocer will be giving 20 % off all grocery purchases benefiting the food bank. Join me and grab a shopping cart and fill up with donations to help needy families in our community.

After the groceries have been purchased I will have them immediately taken over to the food bank where we will then be having a celebratory hot dog and hamburger barbecue. Come join me and make Saturday your morning to make a huge difference in the lives of others. I can’t wait to see you!

I was not expecting what occurred next. When I arrived at the grocery store I found a group of my clients gathered and waiting for me…I was an hour early! People were eager to help. Clients and their friends kept showing up and by the end of the day we had filled the shelves of the food bank.

We made a huge difference in the community. I was very touched by the connections I had the opportunity to make with my clients that day. There is something very powerful about doing good things for your community with a group of like-minded people. Whether they showed up because they wanted to help or because they wanted to see me didn’t matter. What mattered was that they showed up, they participated, they helped their community and they felt good about it.

So the next time you can’t think of a client appreciation event to hold, perhaps you should do a community service event. Giving back to others, while enjoying the company of your past clients, can be very, very rewarding.