Last week I threw down the gauntlet and challenged you to write down five reasons why you like to work with referrals. At the end I threw out a personal challenge for me to come up with 20 reasons why I like working with referrals. I had no idea exactly how many I actually had, but figured I could come up with 20 – and I did!

Some of the reasons I like working with referrals are similar to others, but there is a unique component to each. So, in no particular order, and without further adieu, here is my personal Fav 20!

1.  Easy to Obtain – Provide your customers with greater value than your competition, along with a great product and excellent service, and you’ve positioned yourself to generate referrals.

2.  Confirmation – Receiving a referral means that you are doing a good job. It is the highest compliment a customer or someone that knows how you do business can give you.

3.  Warm Lead – A referral is the exact opposite from a cold call where people have no idea who you are or what you do. Referrals know exactly who you are and what you provide!

4.  Low Cost – Unlike other forms of lead generation, receiving a referral does not cost you a dime. Referrals are a byproduct of your superior service and value combined with a strategic and proactive mindset to generate them.

5.  Transferred Credibility – When a referral comes through your door or calls you, they have no idea who you are. However, they do know and respect the person that referred them to you. The referring party has a high level of trust and respect for you and a certain level of that trust and respect is transferred to the referral through your customer’s recommendation.

6.  Pre-Sold Customers – When your referral first meets with you, not only do they have that transferred credibility, but your customer has already sold them on you as well. They have shared their successful experience with you and talked you up like no advertisement ever could!

7.  Immediate Need – When a referral walks through your door, they aren’t there to browse around; they are there with a purpose – to make a purchase.

8.  Increased Conversions – Studies have shown that, on average, 90% of referrals turn into customers. I kind of like those odds!

9.  Spend More – Referrals will spend more with you than someone off the street. The referral is doing business with you for the quality product and superior service you provide and because their friend told them they can trust you. As a result, they are not there to kick the tires and shop you on price. They also will be more open to additional products and services you provide.

10.  Motivation – The more referrals you receive, the more they are on your mind to go generate. They also provide motivation as a sign of you doing something great and valuable.

11.  Larger Net(work) – On average, everyone knows at least 250 people. When you gain a new customer through a referral, you also gain exposure to at least another 250 people in your potential referral network.

12.  Leverage – With each referral’s personal network of at least 250 people, and with the proper actions, you can leverage your latest positive customer experience into additional referral introductions.

13.  Grow Your Army – As you wrap up a positive experience with each new referral customer, remind them how they came to know you and “train” them to go out and do the same. You’ll be surprised at how willing and motivated they can be to duplicate the experience.

14.  Existing Follow-up – Working your business through referral generation gives you another opportunity to make contact with your existing customers. A quick, simple call to check in, say hi, and ask if they happen to know anyone at that time that may also need your product or service not only may generate a referral or two, but keeps you in the front of their minds the next time they need your product or service.

15.  Marketing Focus – When you begin to see the impact referrals can have on your sales and profits, you begin to re-focus your marketing attention to activities that generate more referrals rather than tire kickers that may try to beat you up on price.

16.  Giving Referrals – The flip side of getting referrals is looking for opportunities to give referrals to others. Sometimes giving a referral that turns out great feels just as good, if not better than the referrals you receive. As such, you will also begin to develop that side of the referral mindset as well.

17.  Connecting – Altruistically, referring someone you know or even bump into to a person you trust and respect feels great as you know that referral is going to have a great experience.

18.  Arrow in Your Quiver – As a referral generator, you need to have a good network of business owners, employees, sales reps, etc. to be able to refer people to. Some referrals you receive may turn out to be good people that you can add to that “database.”

19.  Being a Resource – The more and more your give and receive referrals, the more people will approach you for referrals. “Hey, who do you know that does a great job on ______?” If people can rely on you to refer them to someone to do business with, how much more confident will they be to do or continue to do business with you? Exponentially!

20.  Opportunities to Give – More than making a sale, or the specific acts of designing a website, writing an article or leading a training event, I really enjoy giving and helping others. Working with referrals, both on the receiving and giving ends, provides the opportunity to do just that. I guess I left my best reason for last!

So there you have them, 20 things that I really like about working with referrals. Some of them may not relate to you. However, some of them may turn on a light and provide an “A-ha Moment” for you as well. Hopefully there will be a few that you can run with to increase your sales and enrich your life and the lives of others.

Now Go Get ‘Em!!

Your time is valuable. Your money is valuable. Perhaps even more valuable than both of them combined are leads for increasing businesses and profits. An excellent source of filling your funnel with new leads and prospects are local business expos and trade shows.

Although you will have a few “trick-or-treaters” (people who just walk around and fill their bags with your schwag), most of the people that attend these shows have at least a curiosity of the products and services represented and many have direct needs going in. This may be one of the top three things you can do with the biggest bang for your buck – and your time – since your time and money are focused directly at the people you are targeting.

The rewards can be great, but successful business expos and trade shows require considerable advance preparation to get the return you want. If you aren’t ready, not only can it be a waste of your time and money, it can also lead to a logistical nightmare. To avoid this nightmare, use the following tips to develop a solid game plan, monitor your progress and be prepared to adapt as needed.

BEFORE THE SHOW

1.  Read the enclosed Exhibitor Information material

·  Review the floor plan and the items that are included in your booth
·  Determine additional items you’ll need to bring in addition to your product and displays
·  Review parking and set up instructions to avoid frustrating delays upon arrival

2.  Identify your goals

·  Define exactly what you want to accomplish as a result of your participation in the show
·  This may include: increased visibility, lead generation, or checking out your competition
·  Setting concrete goals will help you determine if your time was well spent and to evaluate future participation

3.  Define measurements of success

·  For each goal, determine a way to measure its success. Make these measurements as specific as possible.  It could be to hand out 1000 brochures, obtain contact information for at least 200 prospects, or meet 5 new contractors or strategic partners to do business with. These benchmarks will help you decide whether the show was worth the expense.

4.  Put your show plan in writing

·  Develop a schedule of who will work your booth and at what times
·  Develop a comprehensive list of preparation activities, including: building the display, ordering materials and printing brochures, among other things you may need
·  Assign individuals to complete tasks and timelines for when they should be completed

5.  Develop a key message for your booth exhibit

·  Develop and promote one major or primary message
·  Reducing multiple messages eliminates confusion and allows your prospects to focus on who you are and how you can help them

6.  Design an open and inviting booth

·  An open booth design invites your prospects to “stop in” to see you
·  Your logo should be big enough to be seen from a good distance
·  Do not place your table at the front of your booth and sit behind it!!
·  Maximize “walking around” space by placing brochure displays against the walls or on tables along the walls

7.  Advertise your show participation

·  Advertise your presence in anything you send out prior to the big weekend
·  This could include postcard mailings, estimates, invoices, etc.
·  Use a simple tag line like: “See us at Booth #15 at the Chamber Business Expo  on October 7th”

8.  Order all necessary supplies, including brochures and giveaways

·  DO THIS EARLY!! You won’t be the only one needing to order printed materials and probably not the only one that waits until the last minute. Do not get caught without these materials because you didn’t give the printer enough time to get to your order.
·  Design forms for filling out prospect information – clear forms eliminate guesswork and shows your prospects that you are organized with attention to detail
·  Consider giveaways to generate attention and a sense of fun. These don’t have to be expensive. Pens with your logo, web address and a catchy slogan can be very effective.

9.  Design PowerPoint presentations and demos for the booth

·  A PowerPoint presentation running on a laptop or monitor not only allows your prospects to learn more about you, but gives them something to do – and stay at your booth – while you are talking to other prospects

10. Create a unique identity for you and your booth staff

·  Have a dress code for your staff
·  The best one will have everyone wearing the same thing or at least the same type of clothing – preferably with your company logo on it
·  A matching dress code will make your representatives easily identifiable

11. Train your exhibit staff before each show

·  This is crucial! Your staff needs to know what your expectations are relating to performance, dress, actions and communication
·  Go over all of the products/services that you want to be promoted and emphasized
·  They must know how to run the demos and presentations and know how to troubleshoot them if needed – nothing looks more unprofessional than a demo that does not work

As you can see, there definitely is a lot of preparation that goes into having a successful show. But do not let this deter you! The rewards you can reap far exceed the time you will spend on your successful preparation. Check back next week for tips on successful activities while you are at the expo. Now, go get ‘em!

resource [ree-sawrs] -noun 1. a source of supply, support, or aid, especially one that can be readily drawn upon when needed;  2. capability in dealing with a situation or in meeting challenges

What kind of resource are you? Not a map or a dictionary, not that kind of resource. I’m asking, “What kind of personal resource are you to the people that know you – and the people that don’t know you?”

It may be better asked as, “Do you merely sell to your customers and simply exist with the people you do not know? Or do you go beyond simply existing and ’serve’ your customers and strangers alike?”

In business, and especially in sales, being a resource is much more valuable to your customers and clients than being a typical sales rep or owner. (Not you of course!) With everything else being equal, your customers will rather do business with someone that goes above and beyond, than someone that merely takes their order or provides them with a basic level of service.

But what does it mean to be a resource? This one question could be the foundation for writing an entire book rather than a short newsletter article. So we will look at it in a general sense, or the Cliff Notes of being a resource, if you will.

Let’s start at the end and work our way back. How do you know if you are a resource? There are several clues that you experience that let you know you are, or on your way to becoming a resource. For starters, your customers may call you with questions that may not directly relate to the product or service you provide for them. Your customers also ask for your opinion on matters unrelated to your typical dealings with them.

People of resource are generally asked by many to help out with this organization or that club. People of resource know how to get things done, and if they hit a snag, they know and can call on someone that can help them push through to get it done.

Resources go above and beyond what people expect of them. They make their promise and over-deliver. They are Jacks, and Janes, of all trades and masters of quite a few! They have many “-ables” that describe them: dependable, reliable, accountable, likeable, honorable, respectable – and a slew of others that elevate them to the forefront of the minds of every customer they have.

Let’s go deeper, eh!? Being a resource is not just something you are; it’s who you are. It’s a mindset. It’s a way of life. It’s seeing ways to help in the most obscure places and instances. It’s seeing an opportunity to help someone and following through – whether you know them or not. Or whether it benefits you or not.

Being a resource is a responsibility, and it can be a lot of work. But the rewards are great and plentiful. In business and sales, the rewards are also profitable! (There’s another “able” for you!) The cool thing is – you can do it and be it! The really cool thing (for you) is – not many others will. The door is there. Kick it open and be the resource you want to be and the resource your customers hunger for. Now go get ‘em!

network [net-wurk] -noun 1. an association of individuals having a common interest, formed to provide mutual assistance, helpful information, or the like; -verb 1. to cultivate people who can be helpful to one professionally, especially in finding new business, employment or moving to a higher position; 2. to distribute widely

It is said that on average everyone knows roughly 250 people. Some of us know more, while others…not so much. But that’s alright, we all average it out. Now, what if my 250 people knew you, what you do and the type of referrals you are looking for? That would be pretty powerful, eh!? And I’m sure you could get at least one sale from those 250 people I know!

But wait a minute. If I know 250 people, then wouldn’t the other 249 people that you know also each know 250 people? Yes! So now the 250 people that you know – that can spread the word about you and your business – has the potential and the power to reach 62,500 people in your “extended network!” And for every new person you put into your personal network, it adds on average another 250 potential prospects.

So let me ask you, where is networking on your priority scale? Whether you own a business, are trying to start a business or are in sales for a business, there are more and more demands on your time than ever before. You probably are wearing more and more hats now than you ever had. This is now the rule and you are not alone.

So let me ask you again. Where is networking on your priority scale? With all of the hats you are wearing and all of the places you go and things that you do, you may figure you meet enough people already and that you don’t have to worry about doing any networking. This may very well be true. And guess what…you may be right! If this is the case for you, and if you absolutely cannot carve out any more time to go out and do some networking, then you at least need to do this…

Adopt a continuous networking mindset. That’s it? Yep! It’s easier said than done though. And many people don’t even know what this is. Many people think that building their network is merely done through meeting more and more people. Wrong. Your network is built when you learn what those new people do and what kinds of referrals they could use. Only then can you share with them likewise about yourself. These new people you “bump into” and meet won’t care about you until they know you care about them.

How do you show them that you care? Ask questions and don’t push. Ask questions about how they got their start, what they enjoy most about what they do, creative ways they’ve promoted their business, and how they would want to be remembered after it is all said and done. But the number one question you can ask that shows that you care is “How will I know if someone I meet is a good referral for you?”

You know what you’ve done with that one question? You’ve become memorable. If I had a nickel for every time someone has asked me that one question, I MIGHT have a quarter. It’s not because I haven’t met a lot of great people along the way; I have and appreciate everyone I know. But if you want to make a great, lasting and memorable impression on those people you bump into every day, take a few minutes to get to know them and then ask them that one great question. One memorable contact = 250 potential referrals. That’s a great return on investment! Now, go get ‘em!!

Last week we looked at three types of leads: cold calls, walk/call-ins and referrals. We listed the pro’s and con’s of what makes one better than another to show how the referral is the best lead source to work with.

Before diving deeper into the benefits of working with referrals, let’s re-cap the general benefits they provide. For starters, the referral requires no cost to generate. Also, the person that is referred to you typically has an immediate need for your product or service. Finally, a referral comes to you with transferred credibility from the person that referred them to you. Transferred credibility is what really sets a referral apart. Initially, the referral doesn’t know or trust you, but since they know and trust the person that referred them, they bring that trust with them to your door.

This week we will look at seven specific reasons why referrals are the preferred lead source for optimum use of time and the best lead source to spend time trying to generate.

#1 – Easy to obtain. If you have provided value, a quality product or service that solved your customer’s problem and/or helped increase their profit and did so with a level of service that they have never experienced, their referrals are yours for the…asking! The perfect time to ask for their referrals is after the purchase is made and at some point they are raving about the product or their experience with you. Do not let this opportunity pass you by! “Ed, I’m thrilled that this has worked out so well for you! Who do you know that would also appreciate what we’ve done here?”

#2 – Very low-cost. A referral usually comes to you one of two ways; they either call you directly as a result of someone giving them your name and number, or you call them after getting their name and number from your customer. As such, you don’t have to spend dollars on traditional advertising methods to get their attention multiple times before deciding to give you a call. Another cost savings is the time it takes to seal the deal…so why don’t we take a closer look at that one.

#3 – Quicker sales cycle. With transferred credibility, you only need to re-cap what the referral appreciated from your customer’s experience and build on it rather than build the trust and overcome the skepticism that comes with many customers off the street. With the skepticism removed, you can proceed directly to GO and collect your $200!

#4 – Increased conversions. As mentioned last week, a good referral will convert to a sale, upwards of 90% of the time, as long as you don’t blow it with them along the way. I can’t think of another type of lead that you can work that would have a higher conversion rate. The only one that comes to mind is Mom and she could only be referred to you once!

#5 – Referral leverage. You’ve wowed your referral and provided them with the same great product and outstanding service that you did to their friend. Asking for and receiving referrals is now almost a given. Since through referral is how they came to know you, passing you the names and numbers of others they know is now a no-brainer. You’ve now leveraged that one referral into a handful of others.

#6 – Residual referrals. Once you start working with more and more referrals, it breeds a referral mentality in both yourself and your ever increasing customer base. The number of referral customers you will work with grows exponentially over time.

#7 – Addictive! Once you get the hang of asking for and cultivating referrals, you won’t quit! You will continually look for more and more creative ways that you can ask for them and work with them.

Alright. It’s homework time. Over the past week, you identified your top 10 customers or 10 of the most recent customers that you had a great transaction with. Now, take out your list of top 10 customers and prepare an “introduction wish list” for each of them. Your wish list will contain a few of their customers that you will ask to be introduced to. (Don’t be greedy…only list a few.)

You may be able to pull together this list for each customer based on conversations you’ve had with them or you may need to do a little research. If you need to do some research on whom some of their customers are that you would like to meet, a great place to start is your customer’s brochures and websites. Many brochures will have testimonials on them along with the person/company that wrote them. Also, your customer’s website may have a tab listing their satisfied customers, references or testimonials. Check them out and copy a few down.

Next, give your customer a call. Get the conversation around to why they purchased from you and the ultimate service they received. At this point, mention that you saw they work with (insert your wish list here) and wondered if you could get an introduction to them? People, for the most part, want each other to be successful and will at least go a little out of their way to help us out.

Here is the key: Asking for an “introduction” has two benefits. One, an introduction is less invasive for your customer than blindly handing over a name and number of one of their customers. Two, an introduction opens the door to the referral, where a random call from one of their supplier’s supplier is only a knock at the door.

If you’ve never discussed your customer’s customers, and they do not have them listed somewhere in a brochure or website, when you call your customer, rather than using your wish list, try this: Ask who they know that would also benefit from your product or service as well as the manner in which you provide it.

Notice I said to ask them “Who do you know…” not “Do you know anyone…” – there is a big difference! The latter is too easy to get a “no” answer as it does not require them to put on their thinking cap. Rather, the former question is proactive and causes them to stop and think of who they know that they could introduce you to. Again, since they want their contacts to get the same benefits from you that they did, they will go through their mental rolodex to help you out. Now go fill your funnel!

In a way, sales flow just like water – both follow the path of least resistance. The more obstacles you remove from each, the better they both flow. Many people will read that and relate it to anticipating and removing objections during a presentation or while trying to close a sale. I say it starts way before that.

Improving your “sales flow” starts with the potential customer you’re working with. More specifically, it starts with how you came to work with your potential customer. Let’s take a look at a few different ways you can come upon a new customer. Starting out, the bottom of the sales lead pyramid is the cold call lead. A few reasons why this type of lead is at the bottom of the lead food chain include: 1) they are very hit-or-miss, usually they are a “miss”; 2) they carry no leverage of prospecting effort – you trade one call for one lead, and; 3) no credibility when they answer the phone or when you walk through their door.

The next kind of lead is the incoming lead. This lead could be in the form of an incoming phone call, a lead card that was returned from a mailing that was done, or someone walking into your store. With this lead, there is some leverage as they initiated the contact therefore at least having a need for your product or service. However, while they did call on you, odds are they also called on 3-5 of your competitors as well.

The type of lead that sits alone at the top of the lead food chain is the referral. There are several reasons why this type of lead is the most valued and desired type of lead. For starters, there was no cost to generate it. A person that is referred to you also typically has an immediate need for your product or service. And to top it off, a referral comes to you with transferred credibility.

The final advantage there is key. With other types of leads, you start from ground zero and have to build your credibility as well as the trust and confidence that person has in you. With referrals, since they heard of you from someone they know and probably trust, you have a huge advantage as they already have a heightened level of trust and confidence in you since you did a great job for the person that referred them to you.

With all of the advantages of working with referrals, you can see where many of the obstacles are removed up front allowing you to work directly on providing a solution. I’ve read that you stand upwards of a 90% chance of converting a referral to a sale if you handle it properly. (And you know that you will!)

So if working with referrals is the most desired source of leads, how do you go about obtaining them? First and foremost you have to provide superior value in your product or service as well as the manner in which you serve your customers. Without doing that, the referral door will never be opened for you. Assuming that is taken care of, let’s look at a few places to get those referrals.

One source of generating referrals is through your area Chamber of Commerce as they will periodically hold various mixers and events that are designed to bring people together for networking and doing business together. Some chambers also have leads groups that meet once a week specifically to generate referrals. If your Chamber does not have a leads group, there are also independent referral groups such as Business Networking International (BNI) that may have a chapter in your area. These types of groups are excellent referral generating machines.

In addition to Chambers of Commerce, you can get plugged into a local civic organization such as Rotary, Lions Club, Kiwanis, Jaycee’s, Optimist Club and countless others where you can get involved. My personal feeling here is to make a sincere commitment to the group and its mission and to volunteer your time and talents to helping them achieve their community goals. A byproduct of your involvement is meeting new people, networking and potential referrals.

One final way – and probably the most effective way – to generate referrals that we will look at this week is to simply ask for them. I am amazed at the number of people I work with that do not and have never asked anyone for a referral – whether that be a current customer, a friend or even a family member! What is amazing about this is there is no better person to get a referral from than someone that not only uses your product or service, but is a loyal customer and could sing your praises to no end.

So here is your first homework assignment. Identify your top 10 customers or 10 of the most recent customers that you had a great transaction with. You eventually are going to call them. However, for this week, really take some time to identify the 10 strongest, most loyal customers you have. Next week we will look at how to approach them for some referrals. Keep this in mind this week while you are working with your customers and I look forward to continuing this process next week!

For as long as I can remember, I have been a networker. My family was recently going through some old photos, cards, etc and ran across a love letter I wrote to “Kim” back in fifth grade. The letter told her that I really liked her and asked if she liked me…followed by a box to check for YES and a box to check for NO.

But here is where the networker in me came out. After the check boxes, I wrote that if she checked NO, that I would recommend Shawn or Eric. I knew them to be pretty good guys and thought that if she didn’t like me, she should at least check one of them out instead!

To me, networking is much more than just accumulating contacts for personal gain. Networking is bringing people together for mutual gain – even if I am not one of the “people” that is brought together. Although making personal contacts is essential for gaining new business, bringing others together can also be very rewarding.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the Top 10 benefits of Networking:

1 – Meet new people. When you attend networking events you have the opportunity to meet several new people. Take advantage of this time and do not just hang out with the people that you already know.

2 – Information gain. Networking with new people gives you the opportunity to learn more about many, many things such as: new products, new services, new technology, new resources, upcoming events, community concerns, community needs and countless other topics.

3 – Visibility. Networking keeps you and your business in the forefront of people’s mind. This is essential if you want to be the first – if not only – person they think of whenever they need your product or service.

4 – Opportunities. Through networking, you can learn about potential opportunities for new business that your competition won’t, or at least before they do.

5 – Untouchables. Networking with your contacts, clients, customers, and the new people you meet increases your ability or odds of getting a face-to-face meeting or introduction to someone that you may have been struggling to meet. You never know if that hard to reach VIP is a neighbor or a golfing buddy of someone in your network.

6 – Resource. A byproduct of effective networking is becoming a resource for others. The more people you know, and know well, the more you will be able to help others that may be in search of a particular product or resource. This leads to the next benefit…

7 – Trusted Advisor. Once you become the person to call or go to for information, contacts and advice, you’ve positioned yourself to be a Trusted Advisor – not only in general, but also in the area in which you personally sell.

8 – Referrals. One of the more obvious benefits of networking is referrals. Personally, I get as much satisfaction in giving a referral that leads to a sale as I do excitement in receiving a referral that leads to a sale.

9 – Responsibility. One of my most favorite quotes is “If you have the ability to take action, you have the responsibility to take action.” As your network grows and you make the commitment to being an effective and proactive networker, you have a certain level of responsibility to look for opportunities to pass referrals – not by obligation, but through opportunity.

10 – Having FUN! Although networking has definite business and professional benefits, it can also be a lot of fun. Meeting new people and passing referrals to them, your network and your customers can be fun and addictive.

BONUS – Karma. You may also know this as “What comes around, goes around,” Givers Gain or the Law of Reciprocity. No matter what you call it, it is very real. The more you help others and the more you pass referrals, the more it will come back to you. And usually it is greater than the level in which you gave. Try it and see for yourself. (Then let me know how it went!)

Not only are there several benefits to networking, there are also infinite ways and opportunities that you can network as well. Some of the more common ways are through organizations that are designed to help facilitate networking such as Chambers of Commerce and trade associations like the Home Builders Association and others like it. There are also groups that meet regularly and specifically to network and pass referrals.

Other networking opportunities include trade shows and business expos. You can sponsor a hole at a golf tournament and staff a table at the hole in addition to just having a sign with your logo on it. Networking opportunities can be as numerous as the people you can meet. Be creative with it and have some fun.

There are also some indirect networking opportunities. While you may join a local community organization like The Optimist Club, Rotary, Kiwanis or countless other groups for the opportunity to volunteer, give back and support a particular cause, these groups also offer opportunities to build both your personal and business networks.

There may be other benefits of networking and they may be different from one person to the next, but regardless of what the benefits are for you, there is no denying that there is Power in Networking.