The Lost Art of Reference Selling

People buy from people they like and they trust. If this statement is true, what are you doing during your prospecting efforts to make sure you turn those cold calls into warm calls so you get a better response rate?

I find it fascinating that sales people are all over Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and all the other social media tools, but have a tough time asking for a referral.

We constantly hear from sales people that reference selling is a great way to prospect and overcome cold call rejection, but ask a sales person to ask their customers for a referral, and they will look at you like you are asking them to request “the biggest favor in the world” from their best and most important friend.

Think like a customer. Customers, especially executives, love giving worthwhile referrals out, since, if the person who they refer you to actually buys and uses what you are selling, they probably:

• Got rid of a problem
• Reduced their cost
• Increased their revenue

Which is the only reason they would buy from you.

Say you ask a good customer, Barney, for a referral. He gives you a referral, say Fred. You help Fred solve a problem, make money, or whatever. He’s happy. He calls Barney up and says thanks. OK, so Barney knows that Fred owes him one. This ‘owes me one mentality’ has been around for a long time. The Romans used to call this a chit, which is like a favor marker, good for one favor.

Executives are always looking to collect chits, so you, by asking for a referral, are really helping your customer collect chits.

Bottom line, ask for referrals and help turn that cold calling chore into a networking juggernaut.

Good luck and use the tools.

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Tool Review – Decision Options (DO's)

What decision options does the prospect have?

Think about it. Your executive level (Russian) prospect has a problem, which is why they agreed to meet with you. They are trying to weigh their options. They are going to:

• Do nothing
• Buy the most expensive one because their choices are limited
• 80/20 the solution
• Get the one that can solve the problem the fastest
• Implement the one with the best return on the investment

They are going to come up with some Decision Options (DO's), and only one will be with your solution. No we are not talking about them adopting a potential competitive solution, since you will fight that battle on a feature/benefit playing field, which is where your marketing department wants you to fight, but your executive level prospect never does.

What are some Decision Options the prospect has, and what would be the outcomes of these? That's what they are racking their brain on, and could use some help. Imagine they called you in for a consultation, and gave you an assignment to come up with three recommendations. They would pay you a commission if they buy your solution, but they will pay you five times your commission if you came up with three recommendations they could pick from.

Only one of the DO's has your solution, and all three have to be really good. What non-competitive options would you recommend? What decisions would you and they make, and how would you both get to a decision point?

Your prospect always wants options or choices. Working with them, you will be seen more as a partner than a pushy sales person. So don't just ask them what are their problems, get an answer, and then pitch your solution. After you hear an issue, concern, problem that you could help with, ask them:

“What are some of the more feasible options you are looking at to address this problem?”

Remember Decision Options is what your prospect is thinking about. Do the 2-step:

1. Ask for problems/issues/challenges
2. Ask them what options they are considering

That will get them talking, and give you an opportunity to transfer ownership and create an opportunity for you. Pull options; don't push your solution.

A Mid-Year Evaluation of the Most Successful

Q1 was good, but marginal. Q2 looks the same. The economy is turning and there are quite a few companies doing quite well. What separates the OK sales people from the really good ones? Right now, we see three differences that are easy to spot:

If you have to email, here are three golden rules:

1. Broad and Deep — they are going broad and deep in companies going after their titles, other divisions, other locations. They are investing in their prospects by holding breakfast briefings, working with their customers to develop internal white papers, and having mutual senior management review sessions to align future strategies.

“We did a series of 60-minute talks in 5 other departments that lasted a full day. We targeted our top 20 accounts, and got 14 to agree. We did our homework and made the discussions all about them, and even pre-arranged the department heads to kick off the discussion. We are still following up these leads, but we see a 40% average increase in business in these accounts.”

2. Pull not Push — It’s not about us, it’s about your customers’ needs/problems/challenges.

   “I cannot believe the response to my e-mails now. I ask questions about what may be on their plate right now, and what options are they exploring, and are they willing to look at another option? This is really working and I am having some great qualified discussions.

3. Stage 2 Masters — In a typical five or six stage sales process, the real magic is in Stage 2; the mutual education and transfer of ownership stage. The more work you do in disqualifying, discuss value options, give homework assignments, and understand cause and effect, the cleaner your pipeline and faster your sales process will go.

   “I have a list of four or five homework assignments I have ready for my prospects and I try to get their involvement in the process as early as I can. It’s funny, but the more work I have them do, the less I do, and the more they take ownership. This is a blast.”

Working harder may not be the issue. Your customers are spending money. Are you on the right train, or are you selling to the value proposition a=of a year or so ago? Your customer is changing the way they are doing things. Have you asked them recently what are they doing different? You may be surprised at the answer.

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