There’s an old saying that goes, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” While this is true, it’s only one-third of the truth. It’s only one leg of the Relationship Triangle.

The basic premise of this old adage is that your success is not necessarily dependant on what you know. We all know our products and services inside and out and could go on all day spewing this and that about their features and benefits. But if there is no one there to tell your story to, there is no cha-ching at the register!

This is where the first leg of the Relationship Triangle comes into play. “Who do you know?” This question speaks to your ability to make connections with key, strategic people that could either use your product or service directly, or put you in touch with people that can. Getting to know these people is typically done through some kind of networking activity – chamber mixers, leads groups, direct/targeted contact and/or through some form of social media.

The “who you know” leg of the Relationship Triangle is a good start, but it is only that. The reason it’s only a start is that you meeting someone else is a one-to-one or one-to-a-few action that does not leverage your time and attraction of gaining more and more contacts.

You can only personally meet or contact a small, finite number of people over any given period of time. With a finite number of people that know you and about your product or service, it limits the potential you have to grow your sales. To reduce or eliminate those limitations, you need to go to the next step.

The next step, or leg in the triangle, is “Who knows you?” Asking yourself this simple question, and committing to answering it, puts into motion activities that can leverage your time and actions to attract more attention to you and your product or service. Typically the way this is accomplished is through traditional marketing channels like print, radio and television advertisements.

These are excellent methods of communicating your message and promoting you wares. And again, these are good starts, but they have limitations. Usually the advertisements are reaching a segmented demographic based on who reads/listens/watches the particular advertisement. Also, once that ad is read and tossed, listened to or watched, it ends. People don’t typically photocopy your ad, or record your commercial and pass it around to their friends.

Using social media to complement your local advertising efforts is a great way to not only expand your targeted reach, but also have your message catch fire and spread from your target audience to all of their friends, contacts, colleagues, etc. The viral effect your social marketing activities can absolutely explode the number of people who come to know you.

Your social media message doesn’t have a short, limited shelf life either. I read a statistic recently that said the return on your social media effort/investment can be as much as 5 years! Pretty good bang for your buck I’d say!

So we’ve looked at who you know and the increased benefits of who knows you. But the key to both of those questions is the third leg in your Relationship Triangle – “Why do people know you?” It’s one thing to know a few people, and another for massive amounts of people to know who you are, but are they going to remember you? Are they going to know you as someone that offers or provides something uniquely different than anyone else? Or are you going to blend in with the others that flash in front of them and then fade away.

To capitalize on all three legs of your triangle, you must provide something of value in your third leg that will keep you in the forefront of the minds of the people you personally know and the others that one way or another have come to know you.

The most effective way of doing this is to become a trusted, valuable resource for them. If you provide something for them that they come to rely on or at least enjoy or gain some level of personal or professional benefit from, you will be the first and quite often the only person they think of when they do need your product or service.

This “value” could be any number of things and only limited by the amount and level of creativity you commit to using. It could be one thing or a series of things. But it has to be something you enjoy, are comfortable with and willing/able to commit to doing on a consistent basis. Mastering this leg as a complement to the other two legs will solidly build your business and increase your sales, both inside and out of your Relationship Triangle.

Now, Go Get ’Em!

There are three ways to pass a referral – Good, Bad and Ugly – and I’ve seen them all! Many people think it is merely a process of passing one’s contact info to another. But that couldn’t be further from the case.

Passing a quality referral truly is an art. And if done right, it can really put you in a very positive light with those that you are passing your referrals to. (More about being a Rock Star referral passer at the end.)

Before we get to that, let’s get the bad and the ugly out of the way. Ugly is how NOT to pass a referral. In a nutshell an ugly referral is one where the person you are referring has no idea they are going to be contacted. You pass along their name and home phone number to someone and tell them to give your referral a call. When they do, it goes worse than a cold call. Thinking they are making a warm call, an ugly referral call goes something like this:

You: “Hello Mrs. Referral. Jim Dudd mentioned that you were looking for a widget and wanted me to give you a call.”

Mrs. Referral: “Jim who?”

You: “Jim Dudd.”

Mrs. Referral: “Oh yeah. Jim. But, who are you?”

You: “I’m a friend of Jim’s that works with him through referrals and he said to give you a call.”

Mrs. Referral: “Oh. Well, I no longer have the thing that needs the widget but thanks for calling.”

So Jim not only knew if Mrs. Referral really needed the widget, he failed to let her know that someone was going to be calling. Ugly!

Now, let’s look at a bad referral. It goes something like this…

Jim Dudd: “Hey there my friend. I ran into a buddy of mine a couple weeks ago and got to talking about the widgets you sell. It sounded like he needs one so I gave him your name and number. His name is Rob Jones so you know who he is if he calls.”

The only good things about that referral is at least the referred person knows who you are and how to get a hold of you. The bad part is it is a very passive referral in where you are relying on the referral to take action.

Switching gears, let’s look at a “Good” referral scenario. When crafting a good referral, the first thing you want to do is confirm there is a definite need and let the referral know you have just the person that can help. Give a good testimonial of his/her service and let the referral know you will have your contact call them. If you have one of your contact’s business cards on you, leave it with the referral.

The next thing you’ll want to do is immediately, or at least as soon as possible, call your contact to pass along the contact information of your referral and give a detailed account of the conversation you had with them. Now, when your contact calls your referral, not only is he expecting the call, he is in a proactive position to begin the buying process.

Want to be a Rock Star referral passer? Schedule a meeting between you, your contact and your referral to personally introduce the two people. It’s been my experience that when this is done, it significantly increases the odds that business will be done between them. Let me give you an example where this recently happened.

I was walking through a Business Expo last week when I was approached by one of the vendors to provide a marketing service. It turns out I didn’t provide that particular service but I knew someone very well that specialized in it and just so happened to also be a vendor at the Expo. I told the gal to hold tight for a couple minutes, went to the other guy’s booth, told him about the referral opportunity and took him over to personally introduce them to each other.

It’s still too early to know if business will be done between the two of them, but from the sound of the conversation, I can almost guarantee it will be.

So there you have it – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly in referral passing. There is one last thing to keep in mind. When it comes time for your contacts to pass a referral to you, are they going to be more apt to remember you and pass referrals to you if you pass bad/ugly referrals that end in frustration? Or would they be more apt to if you are passing Good and Rock Star quality referrals that lead to doing business?

Now, Go Get ‘Em!

“Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness, and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.” — Og Mandino

I recently spoke to a group of young professionals in Central Michigan University’s professional sales fraternity, Pi Sigma Epsilon. Present were over 40 of the most professional, engaging and endearing young men and women that I have ever come across at a single gathering.

Their requested topic for my presentation was Networking. While there are parallels that can be drawn between sales professionals networking for business and college students beginning to network for their careers, the common ground each of them share is building positive and productive relationships.

To illustrate that point, I broke down the presentation into five areas of concentration for building these relationships: Engage, Follow Up, Provide Value, Write and Be “Social.” Keep in mind, these five areas are essential for any kind of successful networking efforts.

ENGAGE – When meeting someone new, the very best thing you can do is be engaging with that person. The ultimate way to do this is to ask them quality questions. When I say “quality,” I do not mean small talk-type questions about the weather, the economy or how their favorite team did last weekend.

Instead, your questions should be centered on building them up and drawing out information about them and their business. Examples of these questions are: How did you get your start? What has been your greatest success story? When all is said and done, how would you want to be remembered with your business?

FOLLOW-UP – When is the last time you received a hand written thank you card? When is the last time you sent one? In an age of e-mail, it is far too easy and passé to shoot of a quick e-mail to someone you just met. Well, that is, you and the 50 other people your prospect met that week! Want to stand out? Get out that pen and note pad and scratch out a note. Want to really stand out? Remind them of a quip you shared while talking? Want to be a hero? Include a referral with the note!

PROVIDE VALUE – You’re off to a good start with being engaging and following up with your prospect. Your next step in becoming memorable and further developing your relationship is to provide value. This can be done in many, many ways – sending referrals, making introductions, passing along industry relevant articles/information. However, one of the most powerful is the fourth thing you can do to build and strengthen relationships…

WRITE – There is something very powerful about the written word. It’s one thing for someone to tell you something, but if that same information is written and published, it gives the information and the person a heightened level of credibility. It also places the author in a position of leadership in their industry. Two very effective resources to use to write and communicate are blogs and e-newsletters.

BE SOCIAL – Although blogs and e-newsletters are forms of social media, the social interaction you want to include in your relationship building are through websites like Facebook and LinkedIn. Each has its own purpose and appeal, but both also have a great place in your on-line marketing and relationship building efforts.

Facebook will tend to be more of a social-focused tool where you can invite your “friends” to also “like” your business profile. LinkedIn is more professional oriented where you will make “connections” with other professionals in various industries that you would like to do business with. However, each of them provides valuable opportunities to engage your prospects.

Like Og Mandino said at the beginning of the article, extending care, kindness and understanding – along with providing value and engaging exchange – with everyone you meet will be the foundation of any networking and relationship building that you will ever do.

Now, Go Get ‘Em!

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.