Salesmanship is changing or perhaps beginning to evolve into
a new dimension. Gone are the days of Willy Loman, the Fuller Brush salesmen,
and Lou Costello’s vacuum salesman character in “Little Giant.”
For professionals that learned their trade by pounding the
pavement, this transformation may be startling. But with cost and time
constraints, multi-tasking demands as well as anxiety caused by one or another
virus, referrals may be the way to build your prospects list and then increase
sales.
Referrals are undeniably personal, credible and influential.
They remain the oldest and most-trusted form of advertising, and the most
influential as they’re most likely to lead to some form of action being taken. Someone
has spoken for your product and service. This alone demonstrates just how much
power referral marketing has, if done well. Just think how many
commercials use the tactic of personal opinions in their messages.
David Lipke, business banking relationship
manager with Citizens Bank,
confirmed the importance and efficacy of referrals. His insights can be helpful
to small businesses grow their sales in these challenging times.
“The power of a referral is that it’s a warm introduction – an
agreement to have a conversation. Because the referrer has worked with
both parties, there is immediate trust on both sides that these are good people
to work with. A good referral is priceless,” Lipke observed.
Successful referrals begin with you, your company and your
reputation. Then comes the quality of your product or service. If everything
that is conjured up about you – your brand – is of exemplary quality, then you
could be sure to be a good referral source. Your customers, other businesses on
your street and supply-chain partners who refer you, your brand, will be
confident that they won’t be burned by shoddy quality.
Once you have nurtured clients that trust you, you can begin
to convert your most high-value customers into your most valuable ambassadors.
Your current customers can be powerful customer acquisition engines if you have
a well-designed referral marketing program. They will constitute the front line
of your outreach.
Consider the immediate benefits of a sales referral over a
cold call. You are instantly in front of the person who matters, rather
than battling your way through their people. There is an immediate sense of
trust, particularly if the referral came from a person the prospect respects.
Here are nine reasons why the dynamic of referrals are
favored by today’s sales pros:
• Low Cost
• More Trustworthy
• Fewer Pricing Objections
• Faster Process
• Easier Closes
• Bigger Sales
• Your Advisor Status
• More Referrals
• Fun
Asking for
referrals is one of the simplest ways you can generate new business. Sales referrals work because they help bridge the trust gap between you and the
referred prospect. According to Nielsen, people are four times more
likely to buy when referred by a friend. Moreover, 92% of people trust
referrals from people they know. Without
this, you are a stranger to that prospect, they have no basis for trusting you.
You and your product are just one in thousands – just one fish in the ocean.
Referral
marketing is essentially people purchasing products based on someone else’s
opinion or influence and is commonly known as word-of-mouth marketing. As a
small business owner, this strategy is an effective way to get existing
customers, partners and friends to promote your business for you.
Referral marketing provides razor-sharp targeting as referral-based customers tend to be
better matched to your services or products. This is because your
existing customers will usually only promote services to their friends and
family that they believe would be interested.
Referrals are a proven way to generate high-quality sales leads for your business.
If done right, they can become a powerful sales engine and help you improve
your close rate. The referral becomes an objective third source of opinions
about your product and service. Asking for a sales referral is simply getting
your brand, product or service referred to another company or individual.
Your new prospects and
clients are more likely to follow your suggestions. Prospects and clients you meet through referrals will follow your
suggestions because they know their friend or colleague has had a good
experience in following you or buying from you.
Businesses
should create several referral programs and offers in each of these four categories.
Direct
referrals – A direct referral program is a type of program where you simply
state to your existing clients an offer for the act of creating a referral that
turns into a client. This is an approach that is both motivating and connected
to what the business does.
Implied
referrals – This type of referral is underused. In this type of program you
want to do things that make it very obvious you are doing work for someone,
without necessarily asking for a referral. This sets up a situation where a
business, friend or neighbor might simply ask you to refer the person running
an implied referral program.
Tangible
referrals – With a tangible referral, you put something – a product or sample
– in the hands of your customer that has real value which they can give to a
referral source – the proof is in the pudding, so to speak.
Community
referrals – There are many community organizations and non-profits that need
and deserve your support. When you partner with a nonprofit player and support
their mission, events, and needs you can also offer promotional support by
running the occasional promotion that benefits your partner.
A successful referral cycle
results in a virtually never-ending stream of satisfied and engaged clients who
give you referrals sometimes without even asking.
But you might still insist,
what about person-to-person, human contact with my prospect? That can wait
until you’ve made the first sale. Then you can spend time developing this
relationship … and turning the new customer into a referral.
• For more tips and insights, visit our websites or
contact us for guidance:
https://www.citizensbank.com/HomePage.aspx
http://newhopepublishingllp.com/
