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Increase Sales with Five Powerful Referral Tips
Why is it that some business
owners and sales professionals are consistently
more successful, while others, putting in the same
hours and
selling the same products struggle each month
financially to
make ends meet?
As a business owner or CEO, you must know the
answer to this question is painfully simple; the
successful business owner or sales professional
spends more time on the
telephone and never forgets to ask for referrals!
Five Powerful Prospecting Tips to Build Your
Business
Tip One: Don't Forget to Ask for
Referrals
When it comes to asking for referrals, timing is
everything.
Research indicates that the most effective time to ask
for referrals is right after you've made the sale or
provided a valuable service for your customer. Once
the sale
has been completed, your customer will be on
an "emotional high" and far more receptive to the idea
of providing you referrals.
Tip Two: Guide and Reward Your Advocates
An advocate is a person who's willing to go out of his
or her way to recommend you to a friend or associate.
Always take the time to thank your advocates and give
them feedback on the status of their referrals.
Tip Three: Strike While the Iron is
HOT
Prospects, like food in your refrigerator, are perishable
and therefore need to be contacted quickly. Each day
you let slip by without making the initial contact with
your
referral dramatically reduces the probability of you
making the sale.
Tip Four: Track Your Referrals
It's critical to have a client contact management
system (CRM Software like Salesforce.com) to record
your referrals, your remarks and
track future
contacts, appointments and sales.
Tip Five: Schedule a Minimum of Three-Hours a
Day for Phone Calling
Make your phone calls in the morning while you and
your referrals are both fresh and alert. Treat your
prospecting time with the same focus you would
give to any other important aspect of your business.
For more information, call (949) 759-8676.
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Greetings!
Our mission is to provide
CEO's and business owners of small to mid-size
companies the
needed focus and expertise, coupled with hands-on
advice, to grow
your business. To take your business to the next
level, call Mark Hartsell, MBA, President at (949)
759-8676 or visit us at
www.CEOAdvisor.com for more information.
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| Strategize, Plan and Forecast Now for '08 |
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A Business Plan and
Forecast is the foundation, or rather a springboard,
towards the needed growth of your
business. A business plan is an essential tool for
companies raising capital - debt or equity - and your
Business Plan needs to precisely articulate how you
will grow your business over a one to three year
period.
Success Through Preparation, Planning and
Execution
Most importantly, the annual business planning
process sets
sales goals, ensures proper pricing and gross profit,
aligns operating expenses to maximize net profits and
focuses you and your business on priorities while
avoiding wasted time, energy and resources.
Using information from your financials, coupled with a
well thought out Forecast of the coming year(s), is
critical to achieving goals and making decisions to
grow your business.
Your Business Plan should be professionally
prepared and be instrumental in running your
business. It
should also meet the needs of both Venture
Capitalists and Angel investors, as well as, banks and
high net worth individuals if you are fundraising. In
your Business Plan, you
should be able to see your own business through the
investor's eye. Your Business Plan and Forecast must
answer the critical questions and concerns of an
investor.
Forecast
You must create a Forecast of one to three years as
part of your Business
Plan to ensure you have a profitable business model.
To do this you must set sales and profit goals, set a
marketing budget and define requirements for your
business. The Forecast is critical for all fund raising
activities, as well.
Disaster Avoidance
Business failure is due to lack of planning. Without
proper focus, planning, goal setting and forecasting,
your odds of a disastrous year or even failure
increases tremendously. Failing to plan is planning to
fail, as the saying goes, so seek a professional to
help
ensure your path to success.
CEO Advisor, Inc. provides extensive expertise and
services to strategize, plan and forecast for the
coming year.
Visit us at
www.CEOAdvisor.com for more information or
call Mark
Hartsell at (949) 759-8676 for a free consultation.
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| Client Testimonial |
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Over a one year period, Mark helped me to
understand what my role entailed. Together, we
segmented my numerous headaches into achievable
goals. I learned to focus on specific issues and
predict obstacles by looking at my business in
monthly and yearly models. Mark taught me how to
understand financial reports as well as the implication
of spending. I now understand how to
measure the performance of my company and
profitably grow my business.
CEO, Web Service Company
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| Words of Wisdom |
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"You can't overestimate the need to plan and prepare.
In most of the mistakes I've made, there has been this
common theme of inadequate planning beforehand.
You really can't over-prepare in business!"
- Chris Corrigan
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| CEO Advisor, Inc. - Member of Accredited Organizations |
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- Tech Coast Venture Network
- Technology Council of So. Cal.
- Orange County Venture Group
- Irvine Chamber of Commerce
- Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce
- Institute for Independent Business
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