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Getting The Referrals That Count In Dollars and Sense
by Cheri English 

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As salespeople and managers, we all hope for that one big sale that is going to change our lives, improve our standard of living, enable us to spend more time with families, or maybe enjoy a luxurious vacation that has only been a dream. If we want to increase our opportunities for success, we need to continue to discover and develop new business prospects.

There are three ways to get new clients.
   1. advertising
   2. cold calling
   3. referrals

Of the three, referrals  may be the most powerful. Referrals open doors! How do we get referrals? Business networking is the most valuable way to locate new prospects. You may already belong to several civic, social, charitable, or business organizations. Are you involved? Do you attend meetings regularly? Do you volunteer to chair an event or act as host/hostess for an occasion? If you aren,t active in any such organizations, select three and get involved.

There are three reasons why people will not give you a referral.
 1. They don,t know what you do.
 2. You haven,t demonstrated trust, worthiness, or credibility.
 3. They don,t know what is in it for them.

Here are some recommendations for effective business networking.

Arrive early and stay late to meet 8 new contacts.
 
Sit or talk with people you don,t know.

Get to these people before they have the chance to pair off with people they already know.

Shake hands web-to-web and no more than 3 times.

Volunteer to serve as host/hostess for the event.
 
Seek out guests, it makes them more comfortable and you more memorable.

Always remember your business cards.

Write notes on the back of business cards you collect about the people you met"maybe their style: A, B, C, D, 1, 2, 3, 4.  People want to be remembered.

Go with another person, but split up when you arrive. Meet again at an appointed time to introduce each other to people you have met.

Introduce your new contacts to people you know. This helps them build their business. (What is in it for them, remember?)

Be a leader it builds trust and credibility.
 

So what happens after the meeting or event?  Take those business cards, sit down and write a brief note, sharing how much you enjoyed meeting them,  a few lines about how your business has helped other businesses like theirs (they don,t know that you do), and then designate a definite time that you will call them to share prospects for each other. Be sure to close with a sentence that addresses them again by their name either at the beginning or  at the end of the sentence. Mark your calendar and follow through.  If you ask them to make a commitment to receive your call, don,t fail to call them. This builds trust and credibility. Finally, if you make a sale or develop a new relationship with someone to whom you were referred, remember to write or call the individual who referred you and thank them.

Remember, 80% of all sales are made after 5-7 contacts.  Yet, 48% of salespeople make only one contact, 25% make a second call, only about 17% make a third call.  90% of all sales are made by 10% of all salespeople.  Contact the people in your network regularly, schedule lunches or networking parties, and remember to use technology faxes, E-mail, and phone mail to stay in touch!

When you network effectively, you attract more clients, make better decisions, energize your business, generate publicity and build a great reputation.