ALL IT TAKES…clearly the greatest sources of business for all Salespeople are your Past Clients and Centers of Influence. These two groups generate more business than any other individual source. It is certainly no secret that because your Customers and acquaintances are familiar with what you do and how well you do it… they will gladly send other people to enjoy the same benefits. People love to help. For some curious reason many Salespeople do not do a good job of “working their database”. Often times they ignore this most obvious source and spend time going after business from people they don’t know. I call that…“Stepping over silver dollars to pick up nickels”. The three most common mistakes are:
- Not contacting your database personally
- Not asking everyone you meet/talk to for referrals
- Not consistently purging and adding to the database
Here is your ACTION STEP… there is a solution. Follow this plan and you will forever be receiving business from your greatest source:
Step #1. Accept the fact that people that have done business with you and/or know you personally want to help you be successful
Step #2. Have a plan in place to personally contact everyone in your database every 90 days. Be sure to ask for their support/help
Step #3. Make a point of Asking for Referrals every chance you get… no more being a Secret Agent!
Step #4. Commit to adding one person per day to your database. If you are prospecting and lead generating every day this will be easy. Add everyone who might send you business
Step #5. See our “All the Right Words” script and dialogues to help you know what to say and how to say it. Have the right words to say and build your confidence.
The benefits of following this plan are obvious. The key is to “remove the filters” that are stopping you from following this plan. Get rid of your resistance and pay special attention to Step #1. People want to help… it’s basic human nature. Make it easy for them by asking. Think of it this way… if the business does not come to you, those prospects are quite possibly going to end up with someone who is not as professional or as helpful as you. You are doing them a favor by asking for referrals! NO Excuses.