by Salezworks | Aug 4, 2011 | Prospecting, Referrals, Selling
Summer is a great time to take stock of referral partner relationships and figure out who will you focus on in 4th quarter. Yes. I know it’s a busy season with family and vacations and life happening. But who continues to make time for you? Who is continuing to prospect? I will give you a few things to think about as you sift through your CRM (customer relationship management system such as ACT!, Outlook, Sales Force, etc). Here are the four main categories you should have in mind as you do that review and think about the level of influence of your natural market – those immediately surrounding you: Center of Influence: Are they lovely people -great to hang out with but don’t have the influence to refer you? Or are they suppliers – their influence is with middle management, not senior level decision makers? Movers & Shakers: This is where the influence begins – these are the people who know who is doing what with whom (as one of my client’s phrases it, they know where the bodies are buried and who placed them there 😉 Contacts with Clout: This people make a recommendation that is acted on by the end of the meeting. Yes, their influence is that great. Networking is moving online, and we are finding more people in the ‘room’ of social media. A fun tool I just found that measures on-line influence is Klout. If you take a moment to go to the SalezWORKS facebook page you can find the link and also I shared my Klout score -apparently I just entered...
by Salezworks | Mar 7, 2011 | Referrals
An interesting quote I received via e-mail this past week referred to the best vitamin to grow friends – B1. This is a simple but true statement that applies to friends and also to referral partners. How many of you would be successful if you walked into a bank at which you didn’t have an account and then asked to withdraw $100? Not very many – if any.Yet, we do the same thing when we make a request for a referral with someone that you have done nothing to build a relationship with. What if you found people who recognize the value of relationships? Hopefully you are already one of these. Recognizing the value of relationships means you must have genuine interest and curiosity in those around you and your focus needs to be on how you can help others get what they want in order to get what you want. This is the first and foremost criteria that must be present in successful relationships, referral or otherwise. While you may not be escorted out of a networking event by security, like you would in the bank example, think of the impression you leave with those you are attempting withdrawals out of a referral account with a 0...
by Salezworks | Apr 22, 2010 | Referrals
‘Tis the season to clear out drawers, deep clean, and re-arrange our household. Summer is coming, and we will be caught up in frenetic activity with kids, vacations and a host of personal obligations. This means we are giving away and throwing away things we haven’t touched in a year or longer, right? That is the buzz on the getting organized shows and topical in magazine articles. But what is happening to our referral partner relationships? Are we cleaning those out? Or do we need to clean them up? I am finding I have lots of great people I know that there have been wonderful relationships with through the years that I have just not had time to connect with. My referral partners of yesterday have often had business market or focus changes that have affected our ability to serve as referral partners for one another. Then I have the partners of today that I need to stay top of mind with, but not wear them out. So how do we manage our time with these relationships so we are engaging in the ‘Habits of Excellence’ that lead to referral partner success? Are you staying top of mind with your favorite resources? When was the last time you sat down for a ‘what’s happening’ lunch that was about them and their lives? We often get caught up in business and forget about the relationship with the person. Let’s engage in some spring cleaning with our referral partners. Here are some ideas… Schedule a meeting with someone you haven’t seen in the last 6 months or longer. Find out if...
by Salezworks | Mar 19, 2010 | Referrals, Selling
Being that we are in the midst of March Madness and Spring Break, we could talk about basketball or beaches but instead I thought we should visit about the current times we are living in. While the year began well for the majority of people I have spoken with, things seem to have slowed down again, with a few exceptions. I am certainly not here to belly ache about it and not sure I can explain it, but I know the economists (who are a heck of a lot smarter than I am) have told us the economy is already on the way back. So why did a group on the internet find it necessary to launch an initiative earlier this month to stimulate referrals to small businesses called “make a referral week?” I think it is because in the new economy we are living in: referrals are the way to find the business that is out there. For those who love to cold call, we have a case in point to share with you that may be familiar. We are in currently following up on a direct mail campaign to our demographic target market that has a high likelihood for need of our services. The two most common responses we have gotten are: “I have not seen your direct mail pieces but even if I had, I would not have read them!” “I could probably use your help but _____________ (insert your favorite excuse here. No money, waiting until the economy gets better, sticking my head in the sand for awhile…)” Yes, we know the rates of success...
by Salezworks | Feb 22, 2010 | Prospecting, Referrals, Selling
Late in 2009 I was sitting in a presentation by a Senior VP of a major Company headquartered in Kansas City. He was speaking about the ways he is engaged by various Business Development Professionals and what his expectations were of them when he did speak with them. I thought reviewing his major points here would be a great refresher for all of us. Initial Contact. E-mails, cold calls, mailings and free stuff don’t work on him. He hits delete and gives the stuff to his staff. If he answered every unsolicited voicemail or correspondence he would get nothing done. He only speaks with individuals who are recommended to him by those he trusts. Modulated Persistence. Once an individual is referred to him, it may take awhile until there is A conversation. Stick with it. However, there is a fine line between persistence in following up and stalking. Choose the right advocate. Your best friend may be the accountant at the organization you are prospecting but they might not be able to get you a meeting with the CEO. Entering the organization at the right level and for the right reason is critical. Top down is always an easier approach than bottom up, that one works best at happy hour;-) Know your audience. Once you have a meeting with the decision maker, do not ask them information that is readily available. Examples of questions are particularly irksome: size of Company, Company culture and diversity. Spend time finding out information from the decision maker that is not readily available and probe at the type of solution slots...
