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.

“To tweet or not to tweet, that is the question”

Facebook, Linked-In and Twitter are a bigger part of how people communicate and it’s growing everyday.  Where do you and your business fit?  Salespeople are busy enough running their businesses and without a social media strategy, it could feel like you are taking a drink from a water cannon.  Everyone I talk to, the questions are the same:

Do I have to change what I am doing today?

How can I leverage what I am currently doing along with social media to achieve sales success?

More questions than answers:

Before you jump into the pool, or off the bridge, here are my top 10 things for you to consider:

1.  Don’t get fooled into thinking that you can replace what you are currently doing to prospect.  You still need to initiate relationships.  Even if you connect through linked-in, twitter or facebook, you eventually have to pick up the phone and set up a meeting.

2.  Social media doesn’t replace traditional sales methods it just gives you more tools to succeed.  Think of it as direct marketing at warp speed.

3.  The right social media strategy can generate leads from a more targeted audience.  Social media provides a place for people with similar interests and concerns to gather and facilitate discussions.  If it fits your market strategy, get in on the chatter.

4.  If you combine a social media strategy with what you are currently doing you can identify and target specific groups and then approach them before they go on-line thinking they can find everything there and don’t need you.

5.  Strategy and execution still matter, regardless of how you get in front of the prospect. Make sure you have a pre-call strategy.

6.  Prospects are checking you out before they meet you.  Keep that linked-in profile current.

7.  The best social media strategy I know does not eliminate the need to prospect.  Sure some people might find you but I wouldn’t do it just for those reasons.  Don’t slow down on your current prospecting efforts expecting a miracle.

8.  Limit the amount of time you spend each day.  Just like other activities you should schedule blocks of time and stick to it.  Sometimes people get a little to busy with social media and neglect things like, calling for appointments!

9.  Be a giver.  Be willing to share information about your knowledge and experiences that might help others such as the discussion groups on linked-in.

10.  Hire someone to help you get started.  There are several businesses that specialize in developing and implementing a strategy and then track your results so you know when to adjust.

Should you have a social media strategy?  Well by design or by default you already do.  Make sure it’s the right one for your business.