Generating sales referrals and repeat business is necessary to expand your business and ensure the success of sales professionals. At times, the importance of sales referrals is often overlooked or not emphasized enough. This can be the difference between top producers and over performers versus under performers and those who comes close to attaining their goals.
It is important to acknowledge and recognize your clients regularly especially those that gives you the most business. These clients can be referred to as your ‘gold clients’ and should be given attention and treated with care (all clients are important). If customers are satisfied with your products and services then they will tell you. They will also tell others they know since people have a natural tendency and impulse t spread good experiences. Also, by asking or referrals these clients will be more than happy to provide you with referrals because they would feel comfortable doing it.
Many sales professionals are simply afraid to ask for sales referrals for whatever reason they could justify. To overcome this fear think of the referral process as having no less importance than asking for the order. If you are not in direct sales then you may consider using customer surveys to find out what did correctly to satisfy the customer and repeat such performance in future prospecting. You should strive to equal or surpass the level of service which will result in more referrals. When asking for referrals you should have a sense o balance and use your discretion.
Finally, it is recommended that you show appreciation for referrals given to you by existing customers. Let your referral know who referred them to you and get as much information from your customer about the person being referred before actually speaking with them. This networking will make new referrals less likely to bail out and they might stay with you for a long period of time. In addition you may send a handwritten thank you note to the customer that gave the referral.
By utilizing these techniques you will be able to generate a lot more sales referrals.
By: H. Whitelock
Posts Tagged ‘Reason’
Persistence in Sales
April 5th, 2010
Persistence is the key that will unlock doors to great riches in sales and in all areas of life. Without persistence you will never reach your true potential, attain the goals you so greatly desire or experience true success. Making the decision to have persistence in sales is not enough; you have to take action to bring such decision to fruition.
As a sales professional you do not want to bother or be a pest to your prospects or clients. How can you exercise persistence without so doing? The answer lies in your reason for being persistent. If you are being persistent only to make a quick buck then the prospect will perceive this and most likely you will be seen as a pest. On the flip side if you are being persistent with a sincere desire to help and be of value, ten this will come across on the nature of your presentation. A touch of human element makes a profound deference and when the prospect sees value in your products and services your persistent will be accepted and commend
Hard work will always be rewarded and normally your results will mirror your input. If you work persistently giving your best endeavor then your persistence will payoff in spades. The problem most sales professionals have when using persistence in sales is being impatient. As a result they give up too quickly and never rise to levels of greatness. If only they tried asking for the order one more time or remained persistent just a little while longer then things would have worked out. For those who exercise patience the results always come and can be quite dramatic.
For persistence to work, it must be done consistently. I you normally follow-up with your prospects every month then do not put of following up for three months or put the account aside for a sustained period. This will result in inconsistency which can be counterproductive. I you adhere to your follow-up schedule then you will consistently see better results.
Persistence in sales requires a high level of motivation and is very challenging but the rewards can be great.
By: H. Whitelock
5 Steps To Improve Sales Probability
March 15th, 2010
At the beginning of every sales process, there is some form of needs assessment performed by the buyer and seller. When sales reps are tasked with “opportunity creation,” uncovering a pain which forces the customer to take immediate action is the key to sustained success. Let’s look at some ways you can utilize pain to further the sales process.
First, have you uncovered a true pain that impacts the entire organization you’re selling to? If the solution you are proposing is merely an easier way to do things yet doesn’t contribute directly to a primary business objective (i.e. increase revenue, decrease cost, and/or minimize risk), it is unlikely to expedite the sales process. Focus your selling efforts on selling solutions which contribute most to helping your customer achieve their business objectives. There isn’t a company around that wouldn’t want to generate more sales, cut costs, or minimize their exposure to risk. The questions you should help your customer answer are “how much will it cost me to achieve my objectives by implementing your solution, and how long until returns are noticeable?”
After uncovering a potential pain, it’s time to validate it with any and all organizational stakeholders involved. Very few organizations leave major decisions to just one person these days. Even if you are dealing with an owner of a small company, that owner will likely have a desire to involve others if for no other reason than to keep from alienating anyone. Never assume everyone will be on board just because the “head cheese” favors your solution. Plus, the more people who express an approval of your solution, the better leverage you have when it’s time to sign the deal.
You’ve now uncovered a true pain and validated that pain with other stakeholders within your customer’s company, now what? Do you have a definitive budget approved for your solution? If you’ve heard something along the lines of “don’t worry about funding, the money will be there for this project,” you’re in trouble! If your customer is serious about implementing your solution, access to funding should be clearly established early in the process. If it is not, expect the sales cycle to expand. If you are entering the sales cycle at the very beginning, however, and you are able to help the customer establish a hard budget along with criteria, that’s fantastic–you’re in the driver’s seat. Just be sure not to mash the accelerator in hopes of closing the sale according to your timeframe. Maintain patience and work at your customer’s pace to keep things on track and in your favor.
After establishing a solid budget, it’s time to establish a timeframe to implement your proposed solution. When does your customer desire to have the solution implemented? What impacts does this have on your own organization–can they meet the deadline without investing an abnormal amount of resources? Make doubly sure your organization can support the desired timeline as proposed–there’s nothing worse than crafting a deal your customer is fired up about only to have your organization pull the plug because they weren’t able to deliver because of an overly aggressive timeline or a resources conflict. Keep in regular contact with your support people throughout your negotiations so there are no surprises come deal time.
Once the timeline is established, it is now, the time to project a potential sale on your sales forecast because it is likely to become reality, and you’ll have a good idea as to when you’ll receive payment for the implementation. Far too often sales reps leave an introductory meeting with a prospect and immediately forecast potential sales on their sales reports. This is asinine–you don’t know the likelihood of a potential sale until you’ve worked through the steps discussed thus far and have a good idea of when your customer actually wants your solution implemented. Do yourself, your company, and your customers a favor and work with them to outline a realistic timeline. You’ll save everyone involved a lot of headaches. Your customer will be happy to share this information with you provided you step through the process in a logical fashion and keep the communication channels open throughout.
Exposing a true pain is the key to sales success. When status quo is no longer an option, your customer is forced to act, and this is the time for you to shine by working through the process just defined.
By: Roger Bauer
