Referral Networking

7 Reasons Why You Should Refer To Someone Else!

David Sims — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:39:28 +0000

David Sims - Business Coach

I had a meeting with an excellent net worker recently and he asked me a simple question. He asked, “how do I convince people in our groups that it is in their best interest to refer others?” He then asked another question,

“What are the benefits they receive when they do refer?”

Now that’s a great question because almost everyone in a referral relationship is looking for ways to get others to refer to them. So today I’m going to list many of the major benefits you’ll receive when you refer to others.

But first, here’s a question for you. “Why should you attempt to get referrals in the first place?” For one thing the easiest sale you’ll ever make is to a current client you have. You’ll expend most of your money, time, and effort trying to get new clients. It’s “FIVE” times as hard to sell something to someone you’ve never done business with than it is to a current client. It’ll cost you “FIVE” times as much money to replace a current client as it will to keep one you already have.

The second easiest sale you’ll ever make is to an introductory referral you received from someone having influence with the person they’re referring you to!

Traditional advertising is getting extremely difficult to make it pay for itself because of all the noise in the market place. You’re exposed to ten-times as much information in a 24-hour period nowadays as you were in a two-week period just ten years ago. So the most effective way to build your business is with referrals.

Here are 7 reasons you should refer to someone else.

The more you give the more you’ll receive. There’s that universal law about, “What goes around comes around.”
When you refer you must learn about the other person. You’ll learn more about them personally and professionally. Since getting referrals is all about building relationships, you’ll build a stronger relationship with that person.
You’ll appear more professional when you refer. People will begin viewing you as a “Center-Of-Influence” and a resource to go to.
When you begin referring more, people you refer to will feel they need to repay you and will begin seeking out referrals for you.
When you begin focusing more on the referral process you’ll see growth in the number of referrals coming back to you. The reason for this is simple, “What you focus on in life expands.”
When you help others succeed you’ll feel better about yourself. This will grow your attitude and self-confidence. This in turn will help you become more successful because “attitude and self-confidence” are key ingredients for success.
And last but certainly not least, life is like a garden. When you plant a seed you’ll receive a return for you effort. If you plant negative, you get negative in return. If you plant positive, you get positive in return. You don’t get a return of “one-for-one” you get a return of “multiples.” So it is with referrals. When you plant a referral seed, you’ll get a return of multiple referrals.

Remember if you’re trying to build a business or an organization the second easiest sale you’ll ever make is to a referral. Also, a referral is 50 times easier to sell to than a cold-call.

If you want some excellent “FREE” information about how to receive more referrals, go to www.referralspro.com and check it out. If you have any questions or want more information about the referral process, you can call me at 417-831-0050 or email me at david@davidsimscoaching.com

Soar With The Eagles

David L. Sims

How do you identify a great referral partner?

David Sims — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 02:18:12 +0000

David Sims - Business Coach

The number one reason you should use referrals to build your business is that you don’t have enough money to use traditional methods. Why you ask? Think about it. You just saw record on-line sales and record sales in general for the day and the weekend after Thanksgiving. Many people think that the economy is booming and things are turning around. But not so fast. The reason the sales were so high is that the retailers slashed their prices to move inventory. That doesn’t mean they made any money. Some even lost money. It’s the “we need a bigger truck syndrome.”

If you don’t want to lose money on selling your products or services, you need to use referrals to generate the sales. The reason. One thing about the referral process is this, if you work the process correctly, you’ll be referred to people who’ll pay more for what you offer. But you may say, “Hold the phone David, what about advertising on Group-on?” I can show you several businesses going broke using that kind of service because the the buying habits they attract. The prospects that are attracted are only looking for the cheapest, one time offer. If you want to build clients who stay with you for a long time the best way is using Referrals. All other methods, (unless you can find someone who is good at writing copy and knows how to conduct a direct-mail campaign), have too much noise and are ineffective because you are using a “shot-gun” approach to try to brand you and your company and you just don’t have enough money in reserve to do that.

So how do you go about developing a good referral partner? First, define the Ideal client you need to build a successful, profitable business. Then you profile the kind of person who can refer you to those prospects. What characteristics do you look for?

Look for someone who is ambitious. The reason you need someone ambitious is this, you want someone who is searching for a prospect to fit your description.
You want to find someone who belongs to several organizations or is very involved in the community. They have to have a lot of contacts to be able to find the kinds of prospects you need. Your attitude should be that you’re building a relationship to get referrals so you want someone who’s connected.
You want to team up with someone who has a good product or service you feel comfortable referring to. Then you work to find referrals for them.
You want to find someone who feels referrals are important to building their business and is willing to invest “sweat equity” to make the relationship work.
You then develop a relationship with them and meet at least monthly to work on the referral process.
You reward them for their effort. The easiest reward is for you to work to help them by giving them referrals.

Does this sound like a lot of work? It does. That’s why only the top 5% of income earners do it. You can take the easy way and buy a generic ad and hope it works. Remember sales is the “easiest low-pay work” you can do. Or it’s the “hardest high-pay work” you can do. Think about this. What if you have 6 people working to find referrals for you and finding Ideal prospects each month. What kind of impact would it have on your business over the next 12 months?

It’s up to you. The great thing about our country is that you can choose what to do.

Soar With The Eagles

Why The Referral System Is The Best Time Management Tool You Can Use.

David Sims — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:42:03 +0000

(Or how you can get all the referrals you need in just 15 minutes a week.)

David Sims - Business Coach

How many times have you heard this old adage, “If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail?” But as you know, “knowing and doing are two different things.” As Yoda in Star wars said, “There is not know, only do.” But still how often do you begin each day or week with a plan? If you’re like 80% of the people in business, you don’t have one. I’m going to outline a simple yet effective way you can begin each week with a plan (that will take you less than 15 minutes) and will result in more and better referrals. After all, how many referrals do you need to become very successful?

In past articles I’ve talked about developing a description of your Ideal and Bread and Butter clients. So I won’t go over that again because you already know how to do that. So today I’m going to share with you an exercise you can do in 15 minutes and get results.

First: Make a list of your 10 best, most faithful clients. These are clients who think you walk on water and wouldn’t leave your to go to one of your competitor’s for love nor money. (I hope you have several of these, if you don’t that’s another problem.)

Second: Prioritize the list like this. As you review the 10 names on the list ask yourself this question. “If I were in trouble at 2:00am in the morning and needed help who on this list would be the most likely person to come to my rescue?” You write that name down. Then who would be the second person to come to your aid? Write that name in the second place. And so on until you prioritize all 10 names.

Third: Now call the person on the list you marked as number 1 and schedule a meeting to ask for referrals. Then move to the second name, etc. until you’ve called all ten and scheduled meetings.

Will you schedule meetings with all of them? Probably not, since some will be in meetings, some will be out of the office, etc. But the one’s you do get to will schedule meetings for you to get referrals. In the next session I’ll tell you what to do when you get to your meeting that will motivate your client to give you several referrals. Remember the only thing that will keep you from getting more referrals will be your reluctance to act because your clients are more than willing to refer to you.

When you use this method you’ll be amazed at how many referrals you can get in a short time. When you begin using this technique your “Time Management” will be drastically improve because you won’t have to spend so much time prospecting. You’ll have much more time for selling, service, family, and hobbies.

Remember, you can either Soar With The Eagles, Or Scratch With The Turkeys!

David

Why Are Referrals The Best Marketing Tool You Can Use?

David Sims — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:13:54 +0000

David Sims - Business Coach

As you know money is tight and all appearances is that it’s going to get tighter. Especially with the group of people we have in Washington wildly spending your money like fourteen drunken sailors on shore leave. So what can you do? Nothing about them spending your money but you can earn more money to offset what you have to pay to Washington. You know that marketing is critical, right? But you also know that most kinds of extended marketing for you is going to “cost a ton of money,” and probably more that you can afford. TV is very expensive and print and radio are not far behind. They’re all very expensive. That is except for the MOST EFFECTIVE form of marketing there is for you and your business. What is the most effective? REFERRALS of course.

So how do you get people to refer to you? Maybe you’ve asked for referrals and the answer was, “I don’t mind referring to you. As soon as I think of someone, I’ll call and give you their name and number.” And you waited and waited and waited, but the call never came. If that’s happened to you then join the crowd, because it’s happened to all of us. Beginning today with step one, I’m I’m going to give you the 10 steps to getting all the referrals you need to build a prosperous business.

Step One:

First you need a clear understanding of the definition of the word ”Referral.” Maybe you think a Referral is a name and telephone number. However, a name and telephone number is just a lead. You must have someone introducing you to the prospect to bridge the “relationship gap.” And that person introducing you to the prospect must have “Influence” with the prospect. The “Influence and Introduction” makes the difference between making the sale and just putting another name in your database. Here’s the TRUE definition of the word “Referral.” A Referral is, “An introduction to a decision-maker on your behalf. The introduction is given by someone who has influence with the decision-maker and the person introducing you recommends a meeting or that the two of you do business.” This is the most effective way to generate new clients. However, only a small portion of business people use this method. If you want to put yourself in the top 10% of producers, tap into your relationships and get referred to decision-makers.

To determine the amount of influence the person introducing you has with the prospect ask this question, “How well do you know them? On a scale of one-to-ten, with close to ten meaning you’re best friends and close to one means you hardly know them, where would you list your relationship on that scale?” If they tell you, “five or below,” they don’t have much influence with the prospect and it’s not much better than a cold call. If they tell you, “six or above,” they have influence with the prospect and your chance of getting an appointment or making a sale are almost assured.

In the next post I’ll show you how to become an effective planner when it comes to regularly planning to get more and better referrals.

Best of Success

Remember, you either Soar With The Eagles Or Scratch With The Turkeys!

David

Two Big Mistakes People Make That Keeps Them From Getting More Referrals.

David Sims — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 21:02:38 +0000

Mistake #1: You don’t plan to get referrals.

The initial mistake that you may make that’ll keep you from getting referrals is very basic but very important. It’s simply this, you don’t plan to get referrals. If you want to be more successful, begin the month by setting aside some time (about an hour) to do some planning for your referral process. Define who you want to meet with to ask for referrals. Determine if there are any action steps you need to take to prepare any materials for getting referrals. Set aside time for scheduling meetings to get referrals. Usually if you’re like most people you’re not getting referrals simply because you’re not asking. Do a little planning and you can put yourself in a position to ask.

Mistake #2: You don’t have a clear picture of the prospect you want to be referred to.

Many times I’ll ask someone to describe their Ideal client for me and they’ll tell me “everyone is my Ideal client.” When I hear that reply I know the person hasn’t done enough research about the kinds of clients they need to build a really prosperous business. You need to determine the “geographic, demographic, and psychographic” qualities for an Ideal client for you. This may take some time but it is well worth the investment. After all, would you rather use a “shotgun” approach, which is scattered and non-focused, for building your business? Or a “rifle” approach that is more targeted, more efficient, more profitable, and more fun? Here are some items to look for when you are searching for Ideal clients; Age, gender, do they own their own home or rent? What kind of car do they drive? What is their education level? Are they a business owner or do they work for someone else? What position do they occupy in the company? Etc.

In Summary, one of the best ways to be more successful is to find a great system that is focused on the basis fundamentals and then implement and follow the system. Vince Lombardi was noted as one of the best football coaches in the history of the game. His philosophy for winning was simply to have a few key “fundamental plays.” He then focused on executing them so well that his opponents couldn’t stop them even when they knew the play that Lombardi’s team was running. The Referral System I’ve developed is the same, it is a winning fundamental system to help you receive all the referrals you need to grow your business.

Remember, you can either Soar With The Eagles or scratch with the turkeys.

Your latest referral tip

David Sims — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 21:09:06 +0000

Think about all the friends you have. Did you meet them “cold” or did someone introduce them to you? I’ll bet that most of your best friends were referred to you. Many times your business relationships turn into personal friendships. Use the referral process to expand your friendship and business bases.

Remember, “Eagles Think Big, Turkeys Only Look At The Ground For Small Bits.”

A Good Referral System Can Provide You With Much More Than Business Contacts.

One of the side-benefits from getting referred to others is that more often than not the referrals you receive will turn into personal friends. Often you will find that your best clients sometimes turn into your best friends. When you look back on the way you were introduced to your clients was many times a referral.

How many times have you needed a product or service and didn’t know a good resource? You purchased from someone you didn’t know only to get ripped off or have such lousy service that you never wanted to see that vendor again. If you know someone and they recommend someone to you and you have a great experience, that person just saved you a considerable amount of time, effort, and money. When you do the same for someone else you save them a great deal of time, effort, and money and you look great in their eyes.

“There’s Riches In Niches.”

David Sims — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 13:36:25 +0000

One of the biggest traps you can fall into when it comes to marketing your business is the trap of, “Everyone needs what I have.” That may be true. Everyone may “need” what you have. However, does everyone “want” what you have or do they “think” what you have is for them. Who do you think earns the most money and has the easiest task of keeping up with their profession, a general practitioner or a specialist? If you said “specialist” you were right. The more you can narrow down the market you’re seeking, the easier it will be for someone to refer you.
You Must Specifically Define The Market You Want To Develop To Be Successful.
Whenever I am talking to a business owner and I ask that owner to describe their “Ideal customer” and they tell me that everyone is their “Ideal customer”. When they tell me that anyone that can stand up-right and fog a mirror is an Ideal customer, then I know that they really don’t know their target. We can’t be all things to everyone. Remember, “The smaller the niche, the bigger the market”.
The One Simple Characteristic Shared By All The Truly Successful People Is The Ability To Create And Nurture Contacts For Referrals.
There are many people in business that feel it’s not important to develop relationships. They feel that the only talent they need is to be very good at what they do. I know that it is important to be technically competent at what you do. But remember this, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”. Dale Carnegie.
Until next time, best of success in building your business and think big. Remember, “Eagles Soar, Turkeys Get Eaten.”

Building your Business with Referrals

David Sims — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 20:47:38 +0000

Warren Buffet was recently asked what is the best investment someone could make in a depressed time? Without hesitation he said, “The best investment you can make in a depression is to invest in yourself.” I hope you can take these ideas to help develop more skills to help you gather one or two new clients. Stay tuned for next week for more tips to grow your business by using referrals. If you can gather one new client from each tip each week at that end of the year you will have a much bigger client base.

First And Foremost You Must Focus On The Referral Process.
Focus like a “laser”. You can take better photographs than a professional. You can do this with a throwaway camera. And the professional can have the most expensive camera system produced. You can do this if the professional isn’t allowed to do one thing. What is that one thing? “FOCUS”. If you are allowed to focus you can produce exacting results. If you are not focused, then the most you will have will be fuzzy results.

No Matter How Smart Or Hard Working You Are, You Can’t Do It Alone.
Everyone needs help at one time or another to become successful. Everyone from Donald Trump to Sam Walton to Bill Gates. There are very few truly successful “hermits”. What’s the best way to make this happen? If you haven’t read Napoleon Hill’s great work, “Think and Grow Rich”, I would suggest you do. One of the characteristics he lists for all successful people is to be engaged in a MASTERMIND GROUP. A mastermind group is a group of people coming together for like thinking. The “synergy” created is much greater than for a group of individuals working separately.

Why do most people struggle with getting Referrals?

David Sims — Mon, 17 May 2010 16:50:42 +0000

One of my clients told me of an article he saw recently. Unfortunately he couldn’t remember where he saw it. The article said this, “80% of businesspeople surveyed said that Referrals were extremely valuable for their business but only 3% had a method for getting Referrals.” A Referral is the second easiest sale you’ll ever make. If you gain a client from a Referral they’ll stay with you longer than clients from other sources. So what is one of the reasons people are challenged with getting Referrals? I can tell you a simple story to illustrate. My daughter is almost 5 years old and last month I took her on a field trip out to the country. We were discovering the beauty of nature using a magnifying glass. She was amazed at beauty of nature up close. It was a sunny day so I thought I’d show her one of the uses of a magnifying glass. I found a dead leaf and focused the rays of the sun on one spot. It wasn’t but a few seconds until smoke was rising, the leaf began getting hotter, and a hole was burned in the leaf. My daughter was so excited, she wanted to try. I gave her the magnifying glass and found a new leaf. She tried and tried to do the same thing I did but she couldn’t. She wasn’t able to hold the glass still and focus the suns rays. This is exactly one of the challenges most people have when it comes to the Referral process. They haven’t bought into the value of the Referrals so they don’t have a system to “focus” their efforts on getting more referrals. Their sales slump, their client base dwindles, and their business dips. I’ve worked with thousands of people helping them get all the referrals they need to grow their business. The first thing I teach them to do is to develop a Referral plan then focus on it daily. When you do this you’ll begin seeing Referrals come to you and help you solve many of your financial challenges.

Why is "Word Of Mouth" marketing critical to your business? "Word Of Mouth" is another word for Referrals.

David Sims — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:25:00 +0000

The easiest sale you’ll ever make is to a client you already have. The SECOND EASIEST sale you’ll ever make is to a prospect you obtained from “Word Of Mouth” or a Referral. Why are these sources of prospects critical to you and your business? It’s very simple. You whole business and lifestyle can be built upon the quality of the prospects you receive. In other words, the most important part of the sales prospect is the quality of the prospect you’re calling on. Unfortunately most people struggle with the referral process. They struggle with making it work. The reason? They just don’t know what to say to motivate people to refer them. I hope you don’t fall in this category. However, if you do, here’s a few things you can do to get around that challenge. First, call on people you have a very good relationship with. If you have a great relationship with business people, call on them to discuss how to make the referral process work. Second, call on your clients. They trust you or they wouldn’t still be doing business with you. (The three critical reasons people do business with you is; One, they like you, two they trust you, or three, you have a good product or service they need. Of the three components, “TRUST” is the most critical.) So call on your clients to talk about making the referral process work for you.

There are so many great benefits to getting referrals. First, they’re easier to sell. Second, they trust you more than other kinds of prospects. Third, they’re more likely to refer you because that’s how they were introduced to you. Fourth, they’re less likely to negotiate prices with you. Fifth, they’ll stay with you longer as a customer. They’re many more benefits of the referral process that I list elsewhere.

Once you’ve learned what to say to motivate people to refer you and even motivate them to call can schedule the appointments for you, you’ll join the top 5% of the sales producers in the U.S.

Soar With The Eagles

David L.Sims