Position Your Business to Thrive
While Your Competitors Simply Try to Survive
For business professionals, a quality that separates the best from the rest is often revealed during periods of economic volatility. As counterintuitive as this may seem, top business people actually face uncertain times with anticipation while many of their competitors face it with apprehension.
The reason for this is simple. Top professionals realize that they are at their highest level of refer-ability when times are tough. After all, this is when true professionalism becomes more apparent and valued. Furthermore, when times get tough, the mindset of many business people becomes more fearful and they start to deviate from the approach that propelled them to success in the first place- building meaningful client relationships! In the process, they lose focus and start to neglect their existing clients in an effort to drum up new business elsewhere.
Keep in mind, your most valuable prospects (mvp’s) are the friends and family members of your existing clients. And your clients will have more persuasive impact on their friends than you ever will. So the goal is to convert your best clients into referral generating advocates right now! The key is to ensure that you have professionally coached your clients to understand the why and how for making an introduction.
Why They Should Introduce a Friend to You
Position the concept of referrals as a service you are providing rather than as a favor you are requesting of your clients. Many business people, especially during times like these, look needy by saying things like “I’m trying to grow my business. Please wave my flag if you think a friend is looking for the services I provide.”
That approach is not very attractive. Instead, explain to clients that as a value added service you provide, you make yourself available to act as a sounding board to friends of family members. Explain how this is especially beneficial during times uncertainty.
How They Should Introduce a Friend to You
Don’t leave your clients to their own devices. Make the referral process clear and compelling. Attracting referrals is achieved by design not by chance.
“Mr. Client, if a friend asks you about me or if you feel compelled to introduce someone to me, call me to get the wheels in motion. Tell me about your friend and give me his or her contact information and I will take it from there. I will book an appointment and answer any questions to give your friend the confidence to make informed decisions going forward. And hold me accountable that anyone you happen to introduce to me will be afforded the same level of professionalism and confidentiality that you receive.”
The distinction here is that many business people tell their clients to “Give a friend my card and have him or her call me…” The problem with that approach is that because the friend doesn’t know you he or she will likely put off calling you and their intent will quickly diminish. By empowering clients to come to their friends rescue at the stage of readiness – the moment your name or service comes up in a conversation – your client will be ready. So the next time a friend asks your client “Are you happy with your (Insert your profession here)? Because I’m not happy with mine!” Rather than your client saying, “Here is my guy’s number, call him…” instead he or she will say, “Hey, let me call my guy for you. He is great and he will make the time to meet with you to act as a sounding board.” The likelihood your client will call you on behalf of his friend during that critical moment of truth is extremely high. That minor adjustment can lead to major improvements in terms of the quality and quantity of referrals you receive throughout 2008.