SELLING FOR LIFE

While you believe in the process of getting more introductions and referrals, sometimes you still have to fill in your calling with prospects who are not expecting your call.  Here is another installment of the Referral Minute from Bill Cates the Referral Coach about dealing with the gatekeeper and some ideas that might help.

One age-old obstacle to reaching prospects is the “gatekeeper.” If you’re trying to reach prospects at their offices, then you’re already nodding your head.  I feel your pain!

While there is no magic key that always gets you through, here are some ideas I’ve used myself over the years.  Again, no magic involved – just working all the options to the best of my ability.

1. Naturally, the stronger the introduction the more likely your prospect will either set up the first phone appointment directly with you or get his/her assistant involved in getting the appointment set up.

2. Email or LinkedIn introductions will usually get you talking (electronically) directly with the prospect. When I reach a prospect, he/she often cc’s the assistant to work with me to schedule a call.

3. Even if you’ve been introduced – but especially if you haven’t – think about mailing some valuable information to the prospect first – to spark their interest in hearing from you.

4. When mailing a packet to your prospect, get their assistant involved in the process. I usually call the assistant to alert them to the fact that I’ll be sending something. I often ask the assistant if I can send the item directly to them, for them to then deliver to my prospect. Then I follow up with the assistant to verify my package has been delivered.

5. Always be kind and professional with the gatekeeper. In fact, don’t be afraid to have a little fun. If the gatekeeper finds your behavior rude in any way, that will get conveyed to your prospect. Not good!

Stop thinking you can totally avoid having to deal with the gatekeeper. Sometimes the gatekeeper IS your way in.

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! 

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.