Cultivating Repeats and Referrals
One of the advantages of selling yourself well is that you will be more able to represent the products and services of others. You will develop customer trust by succeeding at solving problems for them. In addition, you will be building opportunities for repeat and referral business.
Repeat Business
You've worked hard to get and build your customer list. Often, it's an expensive proposition for you and your employer. You may spend dozens or even hundreds of hours attempting to turn a prospect into a customer, then into a top customer. Don't lose your investment.
A major rule in selling is: Lose a sale if you must, but never lose a customer. That's how you build repeat business. Be of service to your customers, even if it doesn't directly help your selling efforts. In doing so, you will discover something that all professional salespeople strive for: a business relationship of confidence. You will be trusted. You will have a distinct advantage over your competitors. You won't do anything for a sale, you'll do anything for a
Referral Business
When the boss is happy, everyone's happy. That truism recognizes the power that bosses have over others in their business and fields of influence. If you can make the boss happy, you can use her power to reach those she influences in a positive way. How? By asking or suggesting that you get a referral to others.
As a professional salesperson, you will be paid in direct proportion to the value of the problems that you solve. If you solve small problems at the retail level, you will be paid a corresponding wage, typically less than double the minimum wage. If you solve large problems involving thousands or millions of dollars in products or services, you will be paid accordingly. In addition, you will gain confidence as you help others solve problems.
The best time to ask for a referral is when your customer is most happy with the solution you've provided. If you were able to get a thousand widgets to the customer in time for the holiday rush or to quickly get a technician out to the customer's plant to make an emergency repair, chances are good that you will get a statement of appreciation. “Thanks for your help. That saved us!” If you don't get it, coax it. “Was that helpful to you?”
You also can get referrals by making periodic calls to customers you don't see often. Maybe they are clients who automatically reorder what you sell and there is little need for you to visit them weekly. Instead, you make a weekly or monthly phone call to make sure that they still are satisfied with the products and services provided. If so, that's the time to ask for a referral.
Thanks, Julio. Are there other buyers in your division that may benefit from my personal service?
Mary, I'm going to call on your golfing buddy, Sarah. Can I mention that I've been serving your company for five years?
Curt, can you recommend me to your boss? I'd like to meet with him about your company's national needs.
Make sure that the referrals you get are valuable to those who will receive them. You may need to ask a few questions of a prospect before using a referral because the prospect may not know or particularly like your reference. To measure the opportunity, you can ask the prospect something like: “Do you know Frank Jones of Allied Widgets?” Then follow through as appropriate depending on whether the prospect answers Yes, No, or comments in either direction.
