There are two ways to get referrals:
Do great work, prompting your customers to brag about your product or service to others.
Ask for a referral.
Seek referrals from the following:
Delighted customers. Maintaining strong relationships with people can bring huge dividends in the form of appropriate leads.
Friends. Your closest friends will know of your abilities and will want to assist you.
Potential customers. Often during a sales interview, a potential client might show some resistance from a money or timing point of view, even though they are praising your product. This gives you a wonderful opportunity to ask them who might value the product more immediately.
Family. Most of us have an aversion to mixing family and business. But those in your family that express an interest in helping you are likely to provide solid leads and have no need for any special thanks.
Vendors. Your suppliers value your relationship and business. They have a vested interest in being helpful. Why not take advantage and tap them for appropriate referrals?
When should you ask for a referral? A good time is when
you have recently completed some task that has particularly pleased the client
your product/service is working really well
the customer has made a major commitment to you
Asking for a referral is not always easy. So make it count! Don’t phrase your question in a way that invites a “no.” Ask “Who else do you know that would benefit from this service?”
Most satisfied clients will help you, but they differ in how they want to do it. They may
prefer to make the contact themselves
want little involvement in the contact
dictate specifically how you are to initiate the contact
Asking for a referral should include
who the ideal prospect is
what you can offer that prospect
how you propose to contact the prospect
If you are offered a referral, learn as much about the prospect as possible so as to enhance your possibility of success. Find out
her name, organization, address, phone/fax/e-mail number(s)
why she was chosen
how she could benefit from your service
Ask your contact if you can mention him by name.
People complain about disappointments to others more often than they rave about positive experiences. When they do talk about great experiences it is because
they like to help others
they can show how smart they were in selecting the service
they’re doing a “favor” that can be called upon later in another context
Send a thank-you letter or make a call to the person who provided the referral. Let them know that you
made the contact
may be able to serve the prospect effectively
appreciate the referral
Consider thanking the person even more for a successful outcome.
Give them something personal. It’s not a question of how much you spend, but rather whether the item is meaningful.
Give them something that they would want to show others.
Decide on the best method of making contact: in writing, by phone, or both. Strong referrals should probably be acted upon quickly by phone. A letter followed by a phone call might be better for a lukewarm prospect.
Organize a three-way meeting if possible. Your satisfied customer can do the selling and you can close!
Make the call soon. The longer you wait, the lower the probability of success. Your satisfied customer’s enthusiasm for helping you will surely wane with time.
Prepare for your call by reviewing the client profile. Find out about
the nature of their business
recent developments in their industry
their personality profile, family, likes and dislikes
a key hot button
the best way to begin the conversation to gain their attention
Start the call by stating who you are and who suggested you call and why.
Wait for a response. Then, unless the response is strongly negative, describe in general terms how clients have benefited from your product/service.
Ask open-ended questions about the potential client’s needs.
State your motivation to call in terms of fulfilling an obligation, rather wanting a sale. Say, “Sam Smith asked me to call you and I promised I would.”
Speaking at Conferences
I do not object to people looking at their watches when I am speaking. But I strongly object when they start shaking them to make sure they are still going.
WILLIAM NORMAN BIRKETT (1883–1962), BRITISH LAWYER
Never pass up an opportunity to impress others, particularly if you can have a captive audience. But make sure you impress the audience with your brilliance and charisma.
One doesn’t often get the opportunity to present ideas in front of an audience, at a trade show or conference. It is imperative that you don’t blow the opportunity by boring or confusing the audience.
Preparing
Good presentations stand out because they follow the audience’s logical thought process. To create the most effective presentation, prepare yourself by asking the following questions:
Who is the audience? What levels are they at in the organization? What are their needs and expectations? What will galvanize them to action and what are the triggers that will turn them off like a light bulb? What have they heard lately? How did they receive previous information?
What is the objective? What is the desired outcome of the presentation? Is it to provide information about a new product/service? Is it to conduct a public relations exercise and create a favorable impression?
How will the audience benefit? This question is important since, without benefits, the audience might lose interest quickly. Will the audience be better able to use your product/service? Will they be able to save time, or money?
Can you justify the benefits? Do you have any studies that prove the benefits you are recommending? Have you testimonials that support your conclusion?
What are your credentials? You will not want to bore the audience by bragging about your accomplishments in the area you will be speaking about, but you will want to be introduced by someone in a manner that leaves the audience in no doubt that you are the big kahuna!
Do you have analogies? It is useful to give examples of how your product works or benefits the audience in everyday terms and examples.
Do you have a case study? Can you show an example of how an organization similar to that of the audience has benefited from your product/service? Can you back up the success with data, leaving no one in doubt as to the value of your information?
Presenting your information
Create a good impression by the value of the information you are giving. The better you are, the more people will be inclined to approach you for a business card afterwards.
Provide a handout summarizing your key points. Attach your business card or a brochure to the handout.
Don’t speak theoretically. Tell stories and give real-life examples. Your audience will not only find this more interesting, they’ll stay awake and listen!
Never sell your product or service directly. Allow your examples and case studies to prove your point. Allow the introducer to extol your virtues.
Let people know how they can contact you. Have lots of business cards and brochures available.
If you can get a list of attendees, send them a follow-up letter detailing how you can help them. Include a postpaid card, phone number, and e-mail address to give them options as to how to contact you.
If you cannot get a list of attendees, consider getting as many business cards as possible by offering one or two prizes to people who enter a draw by dropping their business cards in a box.
If people approach you for a business card, ask them for theirs. This way you have more control when it comes to making contact.
Trade Shows: Planning for Success
Our greatest glory consists not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall.
RALPH WALDO EMERSON (1803–82), AMERICAN POET AND ESSAYIST
Whether you’re attending or exhibiting at a trade show, networking opportunities abound. According to the Centre for Exhibit Industry Research, it costs 62 percent less to close a lead generated from a show than one that originated in the field. Yet most exhibitors sit behind a table, snacking and visiting with co-workers.
With proper planning, you can turn a trade show experience into a business-building bonanza. Here are the strategies to help you make the most of opportunities at trade shows:
Select a trade show that will attract the greatest number of potential buyers. The easiest type of show to prospect is one where potential customers are themselves exhibiting. They make it easy for you to know where to find them. They have a whole booth filled with information about themselves, their products and services. But even when your targets are attendees, it’s still possible to do some successful targeting.
Set goals for what you want to achieve at the show. You might think in terms of the number of
new prospects
samples you want to distribute
people who will test your product
follow-up appointments