|
You’ve honed
your technical expertise, you’ve established your business and
got your team in place, but why was it no one told you you’d
also have to develop marketing and sales skills?
That’s not
what you were expecting when you established your professional
services practice, be that as a lawyer, an accountant, a
designer or consultant. In fact the idea of selling leaves your
cold.
The reality
is most of us dislike selling. Equally, we don’t like being sold
to. This simple fact is often overlooked, yet it has the
potential to be the key that unlocks the growth of your
business.
People do
business with those they know, like, trust and respect. In other
words they want to build a relationship with you before they
invest their hard earned money in your solutions and services.
Referrals
are often the most powerful way to expand your business
requiring little marketing spend and providing you with
immediate credibility through the reputation of the person
referring you.
But how
often do you miss the opportunity to ask for a referral? Do you
have a specific strategy and action plan to manage your referral
process? Are you leveraging the support of your unpaid sales
force - your clients who already know, like, trust and respect
you?
Here are
five keys to growing your business through increasing your
referrals.
How to
ask for a referral
Review your
current clients and identify three of them that you can contact
this week about the potential of them referring you to others.
When you
speak with them, thank them for their business and tell them you
enjoy working with them. Advise them you are in the process of
expanding your referral based business. Explain that you would
like to partner with them to help you grow your business and ask
if they could refer you to 2 or 3 of their contacts.
Make sure
you advise them of the profile of your ideal client that you
would like them to refer you to. If they are able to identify
someone, ask if they would contact the person ahead of you
reaching out to them to introduce yourslf.
| If you want to be a
master marketing strategist then why not sign up for a free 7 part
mini-course. Delivered straight to your in-box this compact course 'How
to Become a Master of Stupid Marketing Strategies' will guide you down
the road of complete marketing stupidity!
|
Make your
clients proud to refer you
Most of us
delight in great feedback and there is nothing better than
having someone thrilled because of the results they have
achieved through working with someone you referred to them.
When a
client refers you, their personal reputation is on the line.
They won’t refer or recommend someone who they don’t believe in.
It’s therefore paramount you deliver to your highest standards
when working with the contact you have been referred to.
Connect
with your potential new client
When you
make contact with your potential new client, reference the
person referring you and advise them that your mutual contact
thought it would be a great idea if the two of you connected.
Make sure
you don’t overwhelm them with your great technical expertise.
Actively listen to their challenges and concerns. Offer
suggestions and be generous with your advice - make them feel
you have their interests at heart.
Remember,
you can’t convince them to work with you; even though you have
come highly recommended, they have to grow to know, like, trust
and respect you on their own terms.
Keep your
client in the loop
Don’t forget
to keep your original client informed of how things progress
with the personal contact they referred you to. That is not to
say you should disclose anything confidential – just make sure
they know that you have made contact and whether you are going
to work together.
Reward
your referral partners
Consider
rewarding your referral partners, perhaps by entertaining them
to lunch or introduce a different service agreement or fee
structure to formally reward your clients for their referrals.
After all, they’re helping you grow your business and are sure
to remember to provide you with referrals more often if they
know their support is appreciated.
Don’t wait
for your workload to quieten down before you implement a
referral strategy. To grow a thriving professional practice,
business development needs to be part of your ongoing agenda.
Developing and implementing a referral strategy can help you
propel the growth of your business without the anguish of
feeling you have to sell and with little investment in
overheads.
About the author: Krishna De is co-founder and Managing Director
of Oneocean Ltd. Networking and Referral strategies are one of
the foundations of their leading Biz Growth Academy programme
where owners of professional services firms realise more profit
and greater success with less stress.
Join Krishna at Biz Growth Live (http://www.bizgrowthlive.com),
a free weekly tele-conference series where she is in
conversation with experts on how to build your brand, grow your
business and leave your competition on the starting blocks!
Copyright © 2006 Oneocean Ltd. All rights reserved. Oneocean Ltd
is a leading business growth consultancy with a difference –
focusing on the unique strengths of your organisation and your
people to unlock extraordinary performance and growth
|
