|
O.K. Now let’s give examples of HOW to get referrals from the above mentioned sources.
Friends and Family
YOU: “You know I’m starting my new career in (insert industry). Could you maybe help me out for a second? (grab a Referral Sheet.) Would you by chance know of anyone who may at some point be interested in buying a new (insert product).”
Contact: “I don’t really know anyone.”
YOU: “Well, you may not know anyone right now, but how about ANYONE that I might drop a business card to who may need this down the road OR who might be able to point me in the right direction?”
Stay with them until they give you at least FIVE NAMES!
Current Customers / Past Customers
1) At end of your current presentation:
YOU: “Bill, thanks again for ordering one of our XYZ products. Oh, by the way, I was wondering if you could help me out. You know, I work a lot from word of mouth. (pull your territory book out and start flipping through the referral sheets you’ve already had filled out.)”
YOU: “A lot of my customers like Bob, Mike, and Jenny helped me by
brain-storming a few people that I might drop a business card to at some point. (if you have a referral incentive program, also add: “In fact, we have a really neat referral program that people like Mike, Todd, Jenny, and Bob were excited about…”)
Customer: “I don’t really know anyone.”
YOU: “Well, you may not know anyone right now, but how about ANYONE that I might drop a business card to who may need this down the road OR who might be able to point me in the right direction?”
Stay with them until they give you at least FIVE NAMES!
2) Follow-up call or “Jump Start” Call with Current Customer
YOU: “Hi Bill, it’s Chris with ZZA Company! How have you been?
Bill: “Great!”
YOU: “Bill, I just wanted to give you a call to see how’s it going and to ask a
favor.” (at this point, you can ask how there current product’s doing that you sold them, or you could also pitch them on a different product or service).
YOU: “You might know that I work a lot from word of mouth, and I was wondering if you might know of a couple people who may like (insert the product he bought) down the road?
Bill: “I don’t really know anyone.”
YOU: “Well, you may not know anyone right now, but how about ANYONE that I might drop a business card to who may need this down the road OR who might be able to point me in the right direction?”
Again, stay with them until they give you at least FIVE NAMES!
3) Follow-up call or “Jump Start” Call with Past Customer
YOU: “Hi Bill, it’s Chris with ZZA Company! How have you been?
Bill: “Great!”
YOU: “Bill, we supplied you guys with a (insert product) a couple years ago and I wanted to give you a call to see how it’s going?
Bill: “Fine. We still use it everyday.”
YOU: “Well, I work with Todd and TTR Company and Jenny over at AAA Company and thought I’d give you a call to see if you may like to see what’s new out there?”
Bill: “Sure” (set appointment) or “Not right now”
YOU: “Well, you may know I work a lot form word-of-mouth, and even though you’re in pretty good shape right now, I was wondering if you could maybe help me out like Todd and Jenny did. Would you by chance know of anyone who may be in the market for a (insert product?)
Bill: “I don’t really know anyone.”
YOU: “Well, you may not know anyone right now, but how about ANYONE that I might drop a business card to who may need this down the road OR who might be able to point me in the right direction?”
Stay with them until they give you at least FIVE NAMES!
Secretaries
YOU: “Sherry, I’m really excited to be able to work with you guys on the new (insert product). We work with a lot of companies like yours. I work with (mention several other secretary’s names at the other companies)”
YOU: “I get a lot of business from word of mouth and thought I might ask a favor?”
Sherry: “Ut-oh, what do you want…
YOU: “Would you by chance know anyone else in this company who might need a (insert product?) or anyone who may be looking for a (insert product) down the
road?
Sherry: “You might want to give Bill at RRR Company a call” or “Actually, Ted, down in H.R. also needs one. Let’s give him a call!”
If you find yourself with a prospect or client and they’re so excited about helping you that they actually want to call the referral right then, let them do it! But just be careful to try to take control of the call before your client gets you blown out of the water! I’ll usually let the client call the referral, introduce me, then try to get the client to let me have the phone right then so I can start building rapport and try to set an appointment (if applicable!)
You may have noticed a trend: FIVE NAMES. Just imagine how many leads you’ll have when you start getting a minimum of five referrals from everyone you talk with. It’s amazing. And the funny thing is, it’s really not difficult to get five or more names from a prospect or customer. In fact, (especially if you have a nice referral
program,) you may find yourself getting 10 or 15 names from a single customer!
|
