See yourself as the
center of a continuum that reaches beyond just the people you see. After
all, your sales success depends on your customers. And prospecting for
customers is very much like prospecting for gold. Just like an old-time
prospector might pan a mountain's worth of rock, mud, and gravel to find
a few valuable gold nuggets, a salesperson must mine a potential area,
group of people, in terms of finding individuals or companies that are
truly worth digging for. These nuggets can really be worth a lot over time
through repeat and referral business. So use your database, keep records,
and stay aware of who is there for you to access.
These were first developed by
my friend, Dr. Tony Alessandra, author of The Platinum Rule.
1. Ask for specific referrals.
Narrow down the customer's focus. Ask him, "Who do you know?" Then give
them a specific type of person, "Who do you know who is going to be retiring
soon?" "Who do you know who has just added on to their business?" Who do
you know, who is seeking new employees?"
"Who do you know who just laid
off a big portion of their business?" "Who do you know who was recently
laid off from their business?" "Who do you know who has just lost
a lot of weight and gotten in shape and they're looking for a new wardrobe?"
"Who do you know who has been fascinated by laser eye surgery and they're
ready to get rid of their glasses and have their eyes surgically improved?"
"Who do you know?" Ask for specific referrals.
2. Gather as much information
about the referral as you can in advance.
3. Ask your customer for permission
to use his or her name in introducing yourself to the referral.
4. Ask your customer for help
in getting an appointment with that person. Have them do the introduction.
5. Contact your referral as soon
as you possibly can after getting the name.
6. Inform your customer, who
referred the person, about the outcome of your contact with this new person.
Tell them how it went, report back to them, don't keep them in the dark.
7. Build referral alliances.
This can be through sources such as tip clubs or building centers of influence
who can refer you to other people. Or meeting and getting to know key people
within the industry or marketplace.
8. Prospect for referrals just
like you prospect for sales leads - actively, intentionally, constantly.
9. Rank your referrals just like
you would your customers. A, a hot one, you know a lot about them and the
referrer introduces you to them. B, a warm one, you know a little bit about
the referral person and you can use the referring person's name. C, cold,
you know nothing about the referral and you can't use the referring person's
name in getting to them. That one's hardly worth going to.
10. Seek internal referrals within
the companies and
organizations you deal with.
Have them introduce you to people in other departments or at other locations
or divisions, branches and subsidiaries. Mine the ground that you're standing
on, your acres of gold are probably right beneath your feet.
Jim Cathcart
Member: Speakers Roundtable
Web site: http://www.speakersroundtable.com
Email: office@SpeakersRoundtable.com
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of 22 of America's foremost professional speakers, sales trainers and seminar
leaders. All members are dedicated to serving their training, motivation
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