What does Success Mean to You in your Referral Business?

What is the meaning of success?

* If you ask Donald Trump, it may mean carrying out a major property deal.

* If you ask Richard Branson, it may mean turning the 'Virgin' brand into an international household name.

* If you ask Tiger Woods, success will mean being the World's number one golf professional.

* If you'd asked Mother Theresa, success is helping the poor and the needy in the streets of Calcutta.

* If you ask the homeless, it may mean having the next meal and a shelter for the night.

I don't know what success means to you, but I do know what it means to me. Success is achieving about:

1. Having a purpose in life
2. Having someone to love
3. Having somewhere meaningful to be

So what's this got to do with growing a referral business? Everything. It's all well and good chasing after new referrals. But what are the results you are getting?

A worthwhile business or a whole lot of busyness?

How many people do you know who are constantly going from one meeting to the next generating referrals? Yet, what quality of referrals are they? Are they worth the paper they're written on? These people are more busyness people than business people.

This week make a decision on who you would like to be: A business-owner or busyness person.

If you prefer to be a busyness person and take the more chaotic approach, then what will be the consequences actions in 6 months, 12 months, 24 months from now?

If you choose to be a business-owner, what are the consequences of acting on this be within the next 7 days, over the next 6 months, over 2 years?

If the latter consequences are more attractive to you, then do three things over the next 7 days:

1. Decide on what your business purpose is and create a plan of action to realise your purpose.

2. Decide on who's lives you are going to touch. Be very specific. The more specific you are, the better your chance of hitting your goal.

3. Set yourself daily, weekly and monthly milestones. Find a creative way to celebrate your success every time you reach a milestone. All too often we beat ourselves for failing every little error. Yet, how often do we celebrate little successes? Do we wait around until we hit that BIG goal before we celebrate?

Oscar Wilde said,

"Success is a science; if you have the conditions you get the result."

A 1% change everyday will lead to a 100% change in 70 days. So act today; act now - by just 1%. Do this for 70 days. Let me know what happens in 70 days time.

Want to find out more about how you can boost your business referrals, then why not book yourself for the Referral Sales Summit on Tuesday 27th June 2006 in Birmingham, UK?

The Power of Asking for Specific Referrals

I don’t know about you but I’ve tried all sorts of approaches in order to get better quality referrals. And, I must admit that I’ve not always had the results I’ve been looking for.

Then I learnt to the power of specificity. I noticed that some people were getting a lot more referrals even though they were asking for some bizarre contacts. Just over a week ago, one of my fellow BRE (Business Referral Exchange) members in South Birmingham, Richard, asked for a referral that was beyond bizarre. Richard is a director of a tool-manufacturing firm. His firm made a one-off product for a veterinary dentist – a tooth-file for horses!

At this particular meeting, Richard wanted to market these horse tooth-files to more veterinary dentists. So he said something similar to this:

“Who do you know who can introduce me to a horse dentist?”

Now let me tell you this much about Birmingham - she is not known for her equestrian heritage. Therefore, you could imagine how surprised I was when Richard received four quality referrals. Moreover, on the following week, another member, Peter, actually found another veterinary dentist who was willing to meet Richard. How bizarre!

So, here’s something to chew on. What’s your million-dollar referral? How long have you been holding back on asking because you thought there was no chance that you would get any referral?

Want to find out more about how you can boost your business referrals, then why not book yourself for the Referral Sales Summit on Tuesday 27th June 2006 in Birmingham, UK?

Want to Get Better Referrals from Breakfast Networking Meetings?

How effecting is your referral business from attending breakfast networking groups?

It is so easy to get staid and complacent by attending the same breakfast group week in, week out. When this happens, the quality of your referrals fall. So how about injecting some life into your referral marketing?

In March 2006, I decided I needed a lot more referrals for the research for my forthcoming book on referrals. As I belonged to a national business breakfast networking group called BRE (Business Referral Exchange), I made a decision to visit 5 local chapters to generate more referrals. In one week, I had achieved my objective. The results were nothing short of amazing. I generated 47 referrals for my ideal referral from 5 meetings.

So what did I do differently? I simply polished up my 60-second presentation and made sure I treated each opportunity as if it were the last one I would ever give. So by the time I got back to my own breakfast group, there was a marked difference in my presentation. Subsequently, I have received better quality referrals from my own group.

So, if you would like to improve your return on time invested (ROTI) from your breakfast group, do these two things:

Be 100% confident that your 60-second presentation is specific, original and memorable
Treat each presentation as if it were the last one you would ever give.

Want to find out more about how you can boost your business referrals, then why not book yourself for the Referral Sales Summit on Tuesday 27th June 2006 in Birmingham, UK?

Giving Referrals Unconditionally

Have you heard the saying,

"What goes around, comes around"?

My good friend and mentor, Richard Wilkins, asks:

"Do you really believe that what goes around, comes around? So what have you got going around? What are you giving out to the universe"

In the world of breakfast networking, there is a mantra that is repeated across the world - 'givers gain'. (I think Dr Ivan Misner of Business Network International - BNI - came up with this one.) In other words, the more referrals you give, the more referrals you'll gain.

This is an excellent approach to follow. It's certainly better than 'show me yours and I'll show you mine'. That should be left at the playground and not brought into the business environment.
As much as I like this approach, I am convinced there is something even more profound than this -

'Give (referrals) unconditionally'.

From the givers point of view, there is no better feeling than to be able to give referrals that have no conditions attached. No pressure on you to have expectations that may or may not come to fruition. Furthermore, you are not putting your life and relationship on hold waiting for that ever-elusive payback.

From the referral receivers point of view, they are not made to feel pressure to give back; nor are they of the view that their are strings attached to your referral.

So where does that leave you, the giver?

By giving unconditionally, you have done two things:

- You have elevated the value of you in the eyes of your network.

The most precious resource that you have is your time. When you are giving your time up to connect people, then you are seen as a valuable asset instead of a commodity. Thus, the more you give, the greater will be the value of you to your network. Period.

- You become more referable.

People will want to refer to you. They will see you as someone who is a giver and, therefore, they will want to give you more referrals in order for them to gain in the long run.

Works like a charm. Give it a shot for a month and let me know how you got on with it. If you are worried that you will not get referrals, then there's a few things you can do to make yourself more referable. More about this in a future blog on your 'expertise' as a connector.

Want to find out more about how you can boost your business referrals, then why not book yourself for the Referral Sales Summit on Tuesday 27th June 2006 in Birmingham, UK?

Reason # 5 for NOT asking for Referrals

What if the Customer Backs Off if I ask for a Referral?

This is a good question. If you've just converted a customer to buy your products, why would they back off? If Mrs Customer refuses to help, she may have several reasons:

1. She is not convinced her purchase will do everything you said it will do
2. She doesn't like you and she bought from you out of no choice
3. She doesn't know how to give you referrals
4. She doesn't know how good or bad you will treat her referrals
5. She does not trust you

1. If she is not convinced about the purchase, then you need to redress the balance. Otherwise, shortly after you've gone she will forget about what the value of her purchase was and she will not do your reputation any favours. Think about the times you've been abroad on holiday and bought souvenirs. you get back home and you cannot understand what possessed you. You got carried away in the euphoria of being on holiday on foreign shores. The trouble with this kind of transaction is you'll have a lot of disgruntled customers. Deal with it. Make sure your customers are happy with your products.

2. It is very unlikely that customers will purchase from you if they do not like you. Most mature adults are able to handle obnoxious sales people. The people I worry for are the elderly, the frail and people with learning difficulties. If you are selling to these kind of people, take the time to understand what's important to your customers. If they do not value your offer or like you, that's fine. Walk away. It takes only one bad word about you to undo a hundred good words. Is it worth risking your reputation? Learn to say 'no' difficult to customers.

3. If your customers do not know how to give referrals, teach them how the process works. Re-assure them that you will treat your referrals with respect and that you will not let them down. There'll be more on this on a separate blog.

4. If your customer is uncertain how well you treat your referrals, then either they are cynical or you have treated that customer badly. Ask your customer how they would best like the referral contact. Then re-assure them by explaining how you will contact them and that you will use your meeting as an opportunity to find out if you can bring value to your referral. Also, re-assure them that if you cannot bring value, then you are happy to walk away.

5. Ultimately, the reason when a customer refuses to give referrals, it is because she does not trust you. The only way you can deal with that is go back to the drawing board, build and sustain a better relationship with your customer and come back for the referrals on another day. If they don't trust you, the quality of referrals she would give you will be low.

To summarise:

• Treat your customers how you would want to be treated - with respect, honour and a value for their time
• Build trust and be trustworthy
• Deliver on your promises and some
• Ask your customer with respect and conviction for referrals
• Teach them how you operate a referral system
  

Who is making the most out of the sales meeting – the buyer or you, the seller? A sale is made every time a buyer meets the seller. Sometimes the seller convinces the buyer to go ahead and buy; sometimes the buyer convinces both of you that he shouldn’t buy. Who’s making the most out of the sale – you or your customer? Always remember to ask your buyer for referrals.

Want to find out more about how you can boost your business referrals, then why not book yourself for the Referral Sales Summit on Tuesday 27th June 2006 in Birmingham, UK?

Reason # 4 for NOT Asking for Referrals

100% of my business is from referrals and they come to me automatically. I don’t have to ask for referrals.

If all your business comes via referrals without you ever having to ask, then well done and congratulations!

Therefore I can safely assume you don’t do any marketing, networking or advertising your services in any format. However, most folks say this fall into a slightly different category to you.

One of my clients who focuses his energy on re-mortgages once said to me that 100% of his business is from referrals. When questioned how many of his 600 clients gave him referrals in the last 12 months, he said a handful. The rest of his business was through a breakfast network group. Yes, my client business was 100% referrals-based, but that also left him short. The number of referrals he got from his clients was negligible. If all his clients were happy, why were they not giving him more referrals? Yet he was wondering why he was not enjoying the double-digit growth in his business.

Asking for referrals makes you more referable. The cost of client acquisition will fall and you will enjoy much quicker business growth.

Who is making the most out of the sales meeting – the buyer or you, the seller? A sale is made every time a buyer meets the seller. Sometimes the seller convinces the buyer to go ahead and buy; sometimes the buyer convinces both of you that he shouldn’t buy. Who’s making the most out of the sale – you or your customer? Always remember to ask your buyer for referrals.

Want to find out more about how you can boost your business referrals, then why not book yourself for the Referral Sales Summit on Tuesday 27th June 2006 in Birmingham, UK?

Reason #3 for NOT Asking Your Customers for Referrals

My Customers Haven't Experienced my Service Fully Yet

This is another dubious reason for not asking customers for referrals. If you were someone who is focused on what your customers value most, then you would have identified how they see a successful outcome from your sales meeting. The outcome in this case is your customer buying from you. When they’ve said yes to you, it’s because they gain value from your service (or promise of service).

Your customers are in a positive state of mind when they purchase from you. Their view about your product is clearly going to favourable – otherwise they would not be buying from you. If you don’t believe me, ask them if they are happy to be doing business with you as soon as they’ve said ‘yes’. My bet is they will not be saying,

“Actually, I’ve bought from you because I dislike you so much that this is the only way to get rid of you for good!”

Of course they’re not buying from you out of reluctance. They are happy with you right now. Will they get even happier afterwards? Perhaps. But here’s a reality check for you. Once your customer has bought from you, they will be enjoying the benefits of your product. They will not be thinking what a wonderful sales person you are. They will forget you quickly. Get over it.

One of my clients, Melvin Evans who specialises in providing legal services related to estate planning and inheritance tax, including writing wills. Do you know when his clients get value from the service he offers? When they’re dead. Do you really think Melvin waits around till after his clients have enjoyed the benefits of his services before he asks them for referrals? So what are you waiting for? You may not be in the will writing business, but your customers have a great chance of moving on or away from you before you get a second chance. So why wait?

Thus, it is imperative for you to ask for referrals whilst you are still hot in your customer’s mind and whilst you still have some influence over their decision-making process – during the sales interview.

Who is making the most out of the sales meeting – the buyer or you, the seller?

A sale is made every time a buyer meets the seller. Sometimes the seller convinces the buyer to go ahead and buy; sometimes the buyer convinces both of you that he shouldn’t buy. Who’s making the most out of the sale – you or your customer? Always remember to ask your buyer for referrals.

Want to find out more about how you can boost your business referrals, then why not book yourself for the Referral Sales Summit on Tuesday 27th June 2006 in Birmingham, UK?