SELLING FOR LIFE

Ok, so you finally started the getting into the habit of asking for introductions and referrals. great!  Now that you have some names, what do you do when they don't return your call?  My process is to call them 8 times in 8 days.  I realize that may a little over the top for some of you, but the guy that taught me that process, Dave Kurlan got me to understand that it isn't that they don't want to take your call, but sometimes they just have more pressing things to deal with.  Keep calling until the reason they agreed to take your call rises to the top of their priority list that day.  By the way I don't leave messages every day.  While there is no set formula I will leave a message the first time I call and then on calls 5 and 8 (never have gotten past 5).

That approach may be a little "out there" for some of you so here are some suggestions from Bill Cates the referral coach from this weeks referral minute.

1. Let your referral source know you’re not hearing from the prospect. They will often go to bat for you.

2. Don’t ask for too much from the prospect. Going for an in-person meeting right off the bat is often too much of a commitment for the prospect to make at the outset. Go for an “easy yes.”  Ask to schedule a 5 or 10 minute phone call “to get the conversation started.”

3. Get your referral source to invite the prospect to your next event – social or educational.

4. Consider hosting fun and interesting social events just for prospects you’re trying to reach. Sometimes they don’t want their first meeting with you to be about their business.

5. Send them something either fun or highly interesting/informative.  Sometimes some “bulky mail” will get their attention, prompt a thank you, and get your foot in the door.

6. Use humor.  If you have a sense of the prospect’s personality, humor can work wonders. I’ve sent fun emails to prospects that have prompted immediate replies. For instance, I sent a prospect – who had just returned from a vacation in Costa Rica - an email recently saying something like, “Are you still recovering from a Costa Rican spider bite?”   He replied immediately and apologized for the delay in getting back to me.

Whatever your approach, be persistent! 

We are constantly getting upgrade reminders from our phones and computers to upgrade to the latest version of the software so they work better.  Have you gotten your upgrade notice for your business?

Are you working harder and harder but still finding it difficult to continue to grow your business?  Maybe it’s time for an upgrade.

Years ago I heard a very successful life insurance professional describe why at age 40, after 18 years in the business, he was handing it off to someone else.  He said “It no longer made sense for a 40 year old to run a business that a 22 year old built.”  He needed to upgrade in order to grow to the level he wanted to reach his personal goals.

Do you need an upgrade, only you can answer that question.  It might be time to upgrade if:

• You are you continuing to call on prospects that look like the bottom 20% of your current customers.

• You are using the excuse that you can’t make enough time for prospecting because you have too many “small” accounts to service.

• Your business is flat or declining because you are not adding enough new customers.

How do you get started?

• Build a success formula with the right metrics and hold yourself accountable.

• Create a profile for new customers that generate the amount of revenue you want.

• Share your profile with everyone who might know where these customers are and be willing to introduce you to them.

• Add 1, drop 1.  Each time you add a new client; drop one from the bottom 20%.

How will you know when your upgrading efforts are beginning to work? 

•  You stop using a mirror to qualify your prospects.

• You have fewer but larger opportunities in your pipeline.

•  You are telling more prospects no.

• Revenue is up and number of accounts are down

•  You are accomplishing your personal goals.

When should you upgrade?  Whenever the people you are calling on cannot help you reach the goals you have set for yourself.  That’s when.

When coaching salespeople I am continually amazed at how ineffective they are at getting introductions and referrals from existing clients and other relationships.  Their ineffectiveness usually falls into one of two categories.

1.  They don't ask!

2.  They do not have a good process for asking.

Sometimes there are other reasons.  This week, Bill Cates offers some reasons that can derail you even before you get started.  Here are 4 things to pay attention to before they become an obstacle.

• Extremely Private - Concerned about Confidentiality.  Emphasize confidentiality and how that even applies to close family members. Promote referrals by letting them know that when they identify someone who should know about you, everything is always confidential. 

• Bad Experience in the Past - Teach your clients that you handle referrals with great care; that you won't pressure their friends, colleagues, or family. That they'll get the "white glove" treatment from you all along the way.

• Not sure how you will make contact - Briefly walk your clients through the process of how you contact referral prospects and what your process looks like. Many times this is just a matter of reminding them how you met them.

• You're Not Referable... Yet.  You must have an initial process that is referable - that generates referrals without even asking. And you must use a client service model to determine how often and for what reasons you'll be in touch with them over the course of a year. In the words of a Bonnie Raitt song, "... Give them something to talk about!"

Finally, even when you have a solid process for asking and have paid attention to the pitfalls ahead of time, you will you still come up empty.  The worst thing that should happen every time is that you  remember to tell them this:  "Sometime in the next few weeks you may find yourself in a conversation that relates to the work I do, when that happens I have just one favor to ask, don't keep me a secret." It is amazing how planting those seeds today will yield results tomorrow.