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Where's Juli?
Upcoming Events
Netmasters Training Group
Time: Thursday, September 24, 2009 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM
Location:Century 21 New Millennium Building in Kingstowne (by Safeway)
5990 Kingstowne
Towne Center
Alexandria, VA 22315
Cost: $15
Subject: Care and Feeding of Relationships
RSVP to me
Springfield Chamber of Commerce Speed Networking
Time: Friday, September 25, 2009 from 8:45 to 10:00 AM
Location: Holiday Inn Express
6401 Brandon Ave
Springfield, VA 22150
Cost: $12 for Chamber Members, $22 for non-members
I will be facilitating the event.
Register here
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Juli Monroe
1 to 1 Discovery
571-220-1891
juli_monroe@yahoo.com
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Greetings!
The last couple of months, I've been talking about knowing who is a good (or bad) referral and how to communicate that to your network.
This month I want to talk about another important element of referring. Do we care enough about you to refer you?
Don't have a good answer to that question? Read on for some ideas.
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Make Us Care!
Don't tell me you
offer great products with great service. Think about it. When is the
last time you heard someone say that they offered a terrible product
with horrible customer service? Right. Great customer service won't
set you apart from the crowd.
And don't tell me that your product is
the best, greatest or has received a lot of awards. Your referral
partners actually don't care. They are referring you. They are
usually not directly referring your product or service.
Here I go dating myself. How many of
you remember the Avis ad campaign "We Try Harder?" They
were going up against Hertz, who at the time was the clear winner in
the rental car battle. Avis couldn't make a compelling case for being
the "best." So they made up a lot of ground by making the
case that not being the leader in the industry was good for the consumer.
And it worked. They dramatically increased their market share over a
relatively short period of time with this campaign.
As I make the rounds of networking
events, I hear a lot of people (especially those in direct sales) say
that their product is "Number 1" or "has the best
science behind it" or "is the leading..." I'm sure you
have too. When is the last time you referred someone based on that?
Some of those people I would not refer because I don't like them. In most cases, I am referring the person, not the product. Does the
product have to work and do what the person says it does? Of course.
But that's all part of liking and trusting the person you are
referring. I hope you would never refer someone who lies about what
their product or service can do. And I hope you would never lie about
yours.
So how can you make other people care
about you and want to refer you?
Deliver
the Goods
You've heard under-promise and
over-deliver? It works. If you say you are going to refer someone, do
it. If you say you're going to deliver the finished product, make
sure you can deliver by that date and do so.
Does
that mean life can't happen, and you can't make mistakes? Of course
not. A part of meeting commitments is staying in touch with people.
If something happens, let them know. But don't make a habit of it or
that will become part of your reputation.
Give
Something Away for Free
How
do we know you are good at something? Well, if we use your services
or hire you in our organization, that's a pretty good way to get to
know your skills. But what if we don't need you right now? Or we have
no room to hire?
This
is where giving away a bit of what you do can reap huge benefits.
A
lot of people are afraid if they give something away, they will
devalue their offerings. Not true. The reality is that most people
can't do what you do nearly as well as you can. And giving them a
piece of what you do can whet their appetite for more.
Develop
a Referral Mindset
Referring
is not a skill we are born with. We have to learn it. And then once
we learn it, we have to work to maintain it. Some people can be
standing (metaphorically speaking) next to a referral and never see
it. Others can identify a referral from minimal clues when speaking
with someone. What's the difference? The person who sees referrals
everywhere has developed a referral mindset. Referring is something
that is always present.
You
can think of it sort of like being a multiple personality, but not in
a bad way. The people in your network are always with you, sitting in
the back of your mind. They have given you clues--things to look or
listen for--and those clues are present. When someone triggers one of
those clues, that person in the back of your mind "raises"
a hand and says "that's for me."
Don't
tell your therapist that I described it that way, please.
How
do you develop this skill? Like any other skill you want to learn,
you'll need training wheels at first. A solid contact management
system is the key tool you'll use. It doesn't have to be fancy (or
expensive). Notes in your paper or electronic Rolodex are a good
start. Attached to each of your contacts is a note. When you meet
with someone, ask the question "how can I identify a good
referral for you?" or "who are your strategic partners?"
Add that information into your notes. Periodically review your notes,
looking for matches between your contacts and who they want to meet.
Over time, you'll have your contacts and their wants firmly enough in
mind that it will seem like they are speaking to you and saying "Yep!
That's a referral for me."
Does
this take time? Of course. But it is time well spent because the more
you help others, the more motivated they will be to help you.
Develop these three habits, offer a good product or service, and your network will refer you comfortably and with ease.
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 Giving Away?
I do like to follow my own advice. Reply to this email, and I will send you a draft copy of the second chapter of my upcoming book. The chapter is called "Define the Target" and goes into more detail about defining your perfect referral.
Please forward this newsletter to anyone who might need the information, or my services.
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