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Hub You - How to Turn More Referrals Into Paying Clients
The Internet was created as a means to share information. That's still its main function and purpose.But somewhere along the line the Internet was commercialized. Marketers realized that "hey, I could SELL this way." Spamming was born. Commercial websites were born.Now, the Internet is evolving again...because THE PURPOSE OF THE INTERNET IS TO CONVEY INFORMATION.People want to GROW. Personal, mental and emotional growth are as inevitable as physical growth.The Internet is the latest means for people to satisfy their need to grow their minds.But sell sheets and unsolicited email (i.e. SPAM) are not what people WANT. They want INFORMATION. They want to be enlightened, entertained, challenged, provoked.
2. When they call him to inquire about his services.
3. When they get his handwritten “looking forward to meeting you” card.
4. When they get his Positioning Packet. (And again when they make time to look through the materials he sends out)
5. When he makes the reminder call two days before the meeting.
6. During the first meeting. (Notice, that at this point prospect has been exposed to John’s marketing message five times – comparing to only two times in Steve’s process.)
7. When they get the handwritten “thank you” card after the meeting
Plus, sending a thank-you card and a small gift to the referral source might prove helpful as well. Sometimes, motivated by the gesture, the referral source might choose to take a more active part in the process, inq
Leading change is a tough assignment. People are much more comfortable with the status quo than with disrupting their working lives. It’s nothing personal about you, the change leader; it’s a problem of personal change. The first thing to understand is that there is no such think as organizational change, it is all personal. Organizations are groups of people organized to complete a particular block of work.So what’s a change leader to do? First understand what I just outlined … that all change is personal. Second, you have to create in your leadership a safe place for your followers. By that I mean they must feel safe talking with you and bringing their true feelings up in an appropriate manner. You must do this in the early st
Those that do – understand the power of a system and frequency of exposure. To best illustrate this, let’s look at how two consultants handle referrals.
At first glance John and Steve have virtually identical practices. They are both management consultants, both have introduced executive coaching to their “product” mix. They are excellent at what they do and have stellar reputation among their customers and peers. But there is a difference…
John gets almost five times as many referrals as Steve, and he turns 95% of them into new clients. How, you ask? See if you can spot a difference...
Steve’s name occasionally pops up in conversations his clients have with their business associates. Since he does a good job, people are often intrigued by the results he creates, ask for his contact information and call him to inquire about his services. Those calls typically lead to an appointment.
In terms of frequency of exposure, Steve’s potential new clients might hear his marketing message only twice before the meeting: when they first get his information from a business colleague, and during the initial phone conversation.
At first glance, John’s case isn’t much different. His name comes up in conversations where he’s praised for his great work. His contact information is passed on, and he too gets an inquiring phone call leading to an appointment with a prospective client. But that’s pretty much where the similarity ends.
Immediately after the call, John sends out a hand-written card saying “thank you for interest in my services, I’m looking forward to our meeting.”
He also sends a handwritten thank-you card and a small gift (like a $5 Starbucks gift card) to the person who gave him the referral. (I guess John understands that the best way to develop a habit is to reward it in the first place – so he tries to make his referral sources feel good about mentioning his name. And it works!)
The following day, John sends out a small package with positioning materials – a welcome letter, an article relevant to prospect’s situation, and an audio CD. This will allow the potential client to “sample” John’s expertise on the subject, build trust, increase the appetite for his services, and position him as a valuable authority.
Incidentally, John knows that many of his best prospects won’t have time to fully review those materials. He also knows it really doesn’t matter. All he wants is to see his “stuff” sitting on prospect’s desk when he walks into their office.
But he’s still not done. A couple of days before the scheduled meeting he calls his potential client to briefly confirm the meeting objectives, time and place.
After the meeting, John immediately sends out another handwritten “pleasure meeting you/thank you” card.
So let’s review how many times John’s prospects are exposed to his marketing message:
- 1. When they first are referred to him in a conversation with a business colleague.
2. When they call him to inquire about his services.
3. When they get his handwritten “looking forward to meeting you” card.
4. When they get his Positioning Packet. (And again when they make time to look through the materials he sends out)
5. When he makes the reminder call two days before the meeting.
6. During the first meeting. (Notice, that at this point prospect has been exposed to John’s marketing message five times – comparing to only two times in Steve’s process.)
7. When they get the handwritten “thank you” card after the meeting
Plus, sending a thank-you card and a small gift to the referral source might prove helpful as well. Sometimes, motivated by the gesture, the referral source might choose to take a more active part in the process, inqu
All employers are threatened of being sued at any time for cause or made up claims. Lawyers are indeed the new terrorists of the twenty first century. It is for this reason that all employers have to watch and monitor their workers at all times. This includes testing them to make sure that they are not on drugs. But employers also need to cognizant that if they tell their workers they are doing mandatory drug testing then the workers will feel as if they are being accused and thus feel as if they are not being trusted.But if an employer does not get rid of those workers who may have drugs in their system then if there is an accident they might be named in a lawsuit if the worker is found to have drugs in their system. It is a ca
John gets almost five times as many referrals as Steve, and he turns 95% of them into new clients. How, you ask? See if you can spot a difference...
Steve’s name occasionally pops up in conversations his clients have with their business associates. Since he does a good job, people are often intrigued by the results he creates, ask for his contact information and call him to inquire about his services. Those calls typically lead to an appointment.
In terms of frequency of exposure, Steve’s potential new clients might hear his marketing message only twice before the meeting: when they first get his information from a business colleague, and during the initial phone conversation.
At first glance, John’s case isn’t much different. His name comes up in conversations where he’s praised for his great work. His contact information is passed on, and he too gets an inquiring phone call leading to an appointment with a prospective client. But that’s pretty much where the similarity ends.
Immediately after the call, John sends out a hand-written card saying “thank you for interest in my services, I’m looking forward to our meeting.”
He also sends a handwritten thank-you card and a small gift (like a $5 Starbucks gift card) to the person who gave him the referral. (I guess John understands that the best way to develop a habit is to reward it in the first place – so he tries to make his referral sources feel good about mentioning his name. And it works!)
The following day, John sends out a small package with positioning materials – a welcome letter, an article relevant to prospect’s situation, and an audio CD. This will allow the potential client to “sample” John’s expertise on the subject, build trust, increase the appetite for his services, and position him as a valuable authority.
Incidentally, John knows that many of his best prospects won’t have time to fully review those materials. He also knows it really doesn’t matter. All he wants is to see his “stuff” sitting on prospect’s desk when he walks into their office.
But he’s still not done. A couple of days before the scheduled meeting he calls his potential client to briefly confirm the meeting objectives, time and place.
After the meeting, John immediately sends out another handwritten “pleasure meeting you/thank you” card.
So let’s review how many times John’s prospects are exposed to his marketing message:
- 1. When they first are referred to him in a conversation with a business colleague.
2. When they call him to inquire about his services.
3. When they get his handwritten “looking forward to meeting you” card.
4. When they get his Positioning Packet. (And again when they make time to look through the materials he sends out)
5. When he makes the reminder call two days before the meeting.
6. During the first meeting. (Notice, that at this point prospect has been exposed to John’s marketing message five times – comparing to only two times in Steve’s process.)
7. When they get the handwritten “thank you” card after the meeting
Plus, sending a thank-you card and a small gift to the referral source might prove helpful as well. Sometimes, motivated by the gesture, the referral source might choose to take a more active part in the process, inq
Goal setting has to be one of the most common phrases when setting out to gain more business. We all dislike the planning process that happens in large corporations. It seems that the goals are set and nothing really happens to fulfill them. The goals we need to set are goals for obtaining a number of business contacts that can lead to a business relationship. Goals for the number of contacts you need to make in order to gain one business relationship may vary from industry to industry. When working with professional sales staff, I find that some firms have a six to one ratio before a sale is made. In other cases it may be one hundred to one (which is fairly high). Your goals should state how many business relationships you
Immediately after the call, John sends out a hand-written card saying “thank you for interest in my services, I’m looking forward to our meeting.”
He also sends a handwritten thank-you card and a small gift (like a $5 Starbucks gift card) to the person who gave him the referral. (I guess John understands that the best way to develop a habit is to reward it in the first place – so he tries to make his referral sources feel good about mentioning his name. And it works!)
The following day, John sends out a small package with positioning materials – a welcome letter, an article relevant to prospect’s situation, and an audio CD. This will allow the potential client to “sample” John’s expertise on the subject, build trust, increase the appetite for his services, and position him as a valuable authority.
Incidentally, John knows that many of his best prospects won’t have time to fully review those materials. He also knows it really doesn’t matter. All he wants is to see his “stuff” sitting on prospect’s desk when he walks into their office.
But he’s still not done. A couple of days before the scheduled meeting he calls his potential client to briefly confirm the meeting objectives, time and place.
After the meeting, John immediately sends out another handwritten “pleasure meeting you/thank you” card.
So let’s review how many times John’s prospects are exposed to his marketing message:
- 1. When they first are referred to him in a conversation with a business colleague.
2. When they call him to inquire about his services.
3. When they get his handwritten “looking forward to meeting you” card.
4. When they get his Positioning Packet. (And again when they make time to look through the materials he sends out)
5. When he makes the reminder call two days before the meeting.
6. During the first meeting. (Notice, that at this point prospect has been exposed to John’s marketing message five times – comparing to only two times in Steve’s process.)
7. When they get the handwritten “thank you” card after the meeting
Plus, sending a thank-you card and a small gift to the referral source might prove helpful as well. Sometimes, motivated by the gesture, the referral source might choose to take a more active part in the process, inq
In general gifts are given in business to promote goodwill and foster good relationships. They are also given to show appreciation. How do you know what is a proper gift?First off, if you are dealing in international trade you should make yourself knowledgeable about the customs of those you would like to gift. For example if you are dealing with oil barons or emirates from the Middle East you wouldn’t want to give them a gift of wood no matter how intricate. The reason is that they perceive would to be of very low value, not making any brownie points there.Another big consideration is to give a gift that you know the recipient will appreciate. Do a little research; find out what their interests and hobbies are. They will
Incidentally, John knows that many of his best prospects won’t have time to fully review those materials. He also knows it really doesn’t matter. All he wants is to see his “stuff” sitting on prospect’s desk when he walks into their office.
But he’s still not done. A couple of days before the scheduled meeting he calls his potential client to briefly confirm the meeting objectives, time and place.
After the meeting, John immediately sends out another handwritten “pleasure meeting you/thank you” card.
So let’s review how many times John’s prospects are exposed to his marketing message:
- 1. When they first are referred to him in a conversation with a business colleague.
2. When they call him to inquire about his services.
3. When they get his handwritten “looking forward to meeting you” card.
4. When they get his Positioning Packet. (And again when they make time to look through the materials he sends out)
5. When he makes the reminder call two days before the meeting.
6. During the first meeting. (Notice, that at this point prospect has been exposed to John’s marketing message five times – comparing to only two times in Steve’s process.)
7. When they get the handwritten “thank you” card after the meeting
Plus, sending a thank-you card and a small gift to the referral source might prove helpful as well. Sometimes, motivated by the gesture, the referral source might choose to take a more active part in the process, inq
A collection agency is understood as another party, a third party, that acts as a representative of any business requesting such representation in order to collect an unpaid debt. Let's face it, businesses are in whatever chosen market to make money, not to lose it, and in some instances it becomes necessary to hire a third party to actively pursue unpaid debts. A collection agency will sometimes collect debts for businesses or lenders and in other situations, they purchase unpaid debts so that the debt can be collected and the money then goes to the collection agency.If a collection agency doesn't buy the entire debt from a business or a lender, they may actively pursuit debts for a commission of the collected funds. The com
2. When they call him to inquire about his services.
3. When they get his handwritten “looking forward to meeting you” card.
4. When they get his Positioning Packet. (And again when they make time to look through the materials he sends out)
5. When he makes the reminder call two days before the meeting.
6. During the first meeting. (Notice, that at this point prospect has been exposed to John’s marketing message five times – comparing to only two times in Steve’s process.)
7. When they get the handwritten “thank you” card after the meeting
Plus, sending a thank-you card and a small gift to the referral source might prove helpful as well. Sometimes, motivated by the gesture, the referral source might choose to take a more active part in the process, inquire about how things are going, and offer additional help.
There is one other thing that separates John from Steve. John understands that his clients want to give him referrals but often don’t know how to do this. So he takes time to educate them and makes it easy for them to pass his information on.
He hands each new client a sample of a great Attraction Tool (most likely an audio program or a book), and informs them that he’ll gladly send this Attraction Tool to any of this new client’s business associates at absolutely no cost and no obligation – all they have to do is ask for it.
He might even hand the new client a few postcards promoting the Attraction Tool and encourage him to send it out to their associates. Why bother? Because by sharing this information John’s new clients are actually helping their colleagues. And it’s easier and less awkward to send out a postcard and to share a resource, than to hand over names of business friends. All this increases the chances of John’s name coming up in casual conversations.
I can already hear you whining: “but that’s too much work, I can’t do that in my business”, etc., etc. And you are right – it does take extra work to set this SYSTEM up.
Do you have to do this? Hey, it’s your business – you don’t have to do anything you don’t want! But the fact is – frequency builds familiarity. Familiarity builds trust. And we all do business with people we know, like and trust. So you decide if adding a few extra steps in the process could help you get more referrals and, eventually, paying clients.
(c) 2005 Adam M. Urbanski
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