This Rocket Fuel will dramatically increase your success obtaining high quality referrals from your good clients, so listen up Let’s start on this all-important topic in an excerpt from my book, TOP Seller, where Bob Stephens and his co-worker, Amar, are in a training meeting with Jay, their sales manager, learning about the first step in being successful at obtaining referrals from their good clients (aka Leveraging):
Jay smiles. "Bob, the first step to being successful at Leveraging is that you need to re-define the goal you are striving for with your high-quality clients. When some salespeople meet with their clients and prospects, they ask themselves 'What will I have to do to impress this individual enough so that they will purchase my product or service?' Tell me, guys; what's the problem with striving for this level of service?" Amar and I sit quietly, each waiting for the other to answer. "Jay, that seems like a pretty good goal to be shooting for. I don't really see any problem with it at all," I confess. "Bob, would you agree that it is possible to do a good enough job for a prospect to get them to become a client, but then have a client who is still not confident enough with you to give you referrals?" "Sure Jay, it happens all the time," Amar jumps in. "That is exactly the trap that many salespeople fall into; they focus on doing a good enough job to make the sale, and then stop there. To be successful at Leveraging you need to set your sights higher: Here's the goal you need to shooting for with each high-quality client you meet." Jay turns and begins writing on the board. He then stands back for us to read:
My goal is to impress my high-quality clients to the point where they are happy to introduce me to other high-quality people that they know.
So often when salespeople sit down with a new prospect, they unconsciously set the goal of: “What will I need to do to impress this prospect to the point where they will buy from me?" and then follow through based on this in hot pursuit of the sale.
Is it possible to achieve this goal and make the sale, but still not have a strong enough relationship to obtain referrals? Many salespeople find out the answer to this question the hard way.
I believe the first step to being successful at obtaining referrals from our good clients and prospects is that we need to set our sights much higher.
Ask yourself, if your goal was to impress every potential new client to the point where they were so pleased with your service that they would be happy to refer you to others (regardless if they bought or not), what exactly would that look customer experience look like?
You need to think long and hard about the answer to that question, and then pursue that aspirational target with every new prospect you meet. When you do, your success obtaining referrals will take a quantum leap forward.
Brian Kjenner
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