The Prospect Who You Never Met

Do you have a prospect who you never met? How is that possible? How could you have a prospect who you never met, never discussed their needs, never spoke to about your product or service, or never knew existed? How can anyone decide to do business with anyone who they never met, never listened to their sales pitch, or never decided that they trusted them?

We know that people do business with, and refer business to, people that they know, like, and trust. So, how do you gain a prospect who you have never met, who doesn’t know you, who doesn’t know if they like you, or who doesn’t know if they trust you? Remember the second portion of that mantra, and refer business to. If people know you, like you, and trust you, then you should have established networking relationships with them. They have become your networking partners.

Networking partners, what does that mean? Perhaps you do not understand, or believe in, building relationships with those who you meet in the course of your business. Your networking partners are those business people who may, or may not, be your prospects, but are your partners in networking. They will believe that they have a vested interested in building mutual success for both of you.

Mutual success means success for both of you, both partners, without hesitation or qualification. Therefore, you will do what you should do, what you need to do, for your networking partners. Your networking partners will give you advice before you ask for it. In other words, they will try to help you before you know that you need help, when they see you doing something that you shouldn’t do.

Your networking partners will be aware when they meet someone who should know about your business or needs your product or service, who can benefit from knowing you and from networking with you. Your prospects should become your networking partners, and they should know that being your networking partner is above and beyond being your prospect. Your prospects put money into your bottom line; your networking partners put prospects into your business. Turn those prospects into networking partners, and you will have more of both.

Your networking partners are your unpaid marketing advocates. They bring you additional prospects through referrals, telling others about you, your product or service, and how great it is to know you and do business with you. From your networking partners, you may gain new prospects that you never meet until they are ready to become your prospects. Just think, no cold call, no research, and no marketing pitch; just meet the prospect, don’t mess up, and sign them up for your business. Then, thank your networking partner and give back as soon as you can do so.

So, how do you thank these people who add prospects to your bottom line? Thank them for their confidence in you, their belief that they know that their referral will be treated with all the grace and professionalism that you treat everyone, including them. Make sure that they know how much you appreciate them, their referrals, and their faith in you. Make sure that they know that they are as special as they really are.

Please leave me your comments, and let me know your experiences with referrals, or email me at Jim@SOC4Now.com, or call me at 360-314-8691. Your gratitude towards your networking partners is one of the main aspects of Gratitude Marketing.