这5种非传统方式帮助你在节日期间拓展人脉

人们通常会在节日季进行社交，送上祝福，这为拓展新人脉和加深商业关系创造了完美的机会。

你可以通过下面五种方式，充分利用节日季。

1. 走出办公室

我居住在科罗拉多州的阿斯彭，所以我会充分利用周围的环境，邀请潜在的商业合作伙伴、投资人和老板，一起在落基山脉度过一天。滑雪可以为我提供建立更亲密的关系的机会，例如在乘坐缆车到山顶的10分钟内，或者在中午休息时间喝一杯热巧克力的时候，并且我可以吸引听众，展示我的品牌与使命。不论在哪里，你都可以把你所在的地区作为一种资源，拿出时间与客户一起从事一些户外活动，加深彼此的联系。

2. 参加节日派对

虽然在一年的这个时间，我们总是禁不住想要拒绝许多节日活动邀请，但我还是会尽可能多的去参加。你会意外地发现，即便在从办公室回家的途中，在活动上短暂停留20分钟，也可以避免当前的关系变得冷淡。维持宝贵的人脉，与建立新的人脉同样重要。不要去安排一些常见的会面，例如传统的高尔夫球比赛等，融入到当前的节日环境当中，不仅可以避免社交活动的意图过于明显，而且在欢庆的时刻，更有可能带来商业机会。

3. 联系你的母校

通过参与到现有人脉网络中，寻找拓展人脉的新途径。我通常会在节日季前往纽约市，在我的母校哥伦比亚大学教一节课。课程通常包括对行业的洞察，趋势预测，以及对Timbers最近取得的成功的案例研究。与社区的学院或大学建立联系，看是否有机会为在校生们上一节课，或者简单的进行一次问答。这可能吸引到优秀的潜在员工，进一步拓宽人脉，甚至让你对自己的公司产生新的想法。

4. 到新年之前的每一天，接触新的人

在这个月的每一天，树立一个目标，加强与某个现有联系人的关系，或者主动接触你希望在2017年与之共事的其他人。在参加每一次派对时，我会努力把自己介绍给我不认识的人。在不参加活动的时候，给不在人脉网络内的某个人发一封简单的LinkedIn信息，也只需要几分钟时间。事实证明，这个目标是一项有趣的挑战，会为新的一年带来许多有用的线索。

5. 志愿者

虽然从事志愿者工作听起来平淡无奇，但值得关注的是它的长期效应。要想找到与自己志同道合的人，最好的办法之一就是参加本地的志愿者活动。为一项事业进行捐赠，可以证明你会为他人着想，希望给社区带来改变。不论是参加一项全国性的活动，还是由公司在本地消防局举行一次社区圣诞晚餐会，节日期间的志愿者活动总能产生长久的价值。（财富中文网）

作者：Greg Spencer

译者：刘进龙/汪皓

— 本文作者格雷格·斯宾瑟为Timbers Resorts公司的CEO。

The season tends to get people socializing and spreading good cheer, making it the perfect opportunity for making new connections and deepening business relationships.

Here are five ways you can make the most of the holiday season.

1. Take it out of the office

Living in the Aspen, Colo., area, I take full advantage of my surroundings and invite potential business partners, investors, and owners to join me for a day in the Rocky Mountains. Skiing provides an opportunity to create a more personal connection during the 10-minute ski lift rides up the mountain or the mid-day hot chocolate ski-stops and an opportunity to capture my audience and showcase my brand and mission. No matter where you are, you can use your location as a resource and take the time to connect with clients by doing activities outside of the office.

2. Say ‘yes’ to those holiday parties

While it’s tempting to decline all the many holiday event invitations we receive this time of year, I make an effort to attend as many as possible. You’ll be surprised that even a 20-minute stop-in on the way home from the office will prevent current contacts getting cold. Maintaining your valuable contacts is just as important as making new ones. Rather than scheduling a typical meeting, such as the ever-traditional golf outing, mingling in these holiday environments makes networking not so overt and is genuinely a celebratory time to make business happen.

3. Connect with your alma mater

Look for new ways to get involved with an existing network. I typically make a trip to New York City around the holiday season and teach a class at Columbia University, my alma mater. Sessions generally include insight on the industry, projected trends and case studies of Timbers’ recent successes. Connect with a college or university in your community to see if you can teach a seminar or even just do a Q&A with current students. This will generate great employee prospects, further extends your network, and can even give you some fresh ideas about your own business.

4. Reach out to a new person every single day until the New Year

Every day of the month, make it a goal to either strengthen a connection to someone within your existing network or reach out to an individual you’d like to work with in 2017. I aim to make an effort to introduce myself to one person I don’t know at every party I attend. When I am not attending an event, a simple LinkedIn message to someone whom is not yet in your network can be sent in a few minutes. This goal has proved to be a fun challenge and often leads to a number of hot leads for the New Year.

5. Volunteer

While this might seem obvious, it is important to note the long–term effects of volunteering. One of the best ways to meet like-minded people is to participate at local volunteering events. Giving to a cause is a genuine opportunity to show that you are considerate of others and want to make a difference in your community. Whether it’s by joining a national cause or having your company host a community Christmas dinner for the local fire department, volunteering during the holidays creates lasting value.

– Greg Spencer is the CEO of Timbers Resorts