Using Gratitude Marketing, you can gain more referrals
for your business, even making it based mostly on those referrals. You can stop
cold calling people who do not know who you are or what you do or why they
should speak with you. You can add clients from the referrals of your known
clients, prospects, friends, and family. You can base your client search on the
referrals of known and “happy” clients.
Based on what you know about yourself, you should ask the
question: “Would
you refer business to you?” First, let’s examine how you do
business. Do you place the needs of the prospect before what you want to sell
to them? Do you ask them about themselves and their business, and do you listen
to what they say to you? Do you watch what they do and how they act towards
others? Do you examine their habits and their actions?
Second, do you apply the same questions and examination to
yourself and what you do? Have you listened to the greeting on your voicemail
lately? Does it identify you, and your business, clearly and concisely? Is it
even up to date? Does it sound positive and welcoming? Would you leave a
message if you were greeted by it? Perhaps have someone listen who has never
heard it and tell you how they react to it.
If you are busy with an appointment or meeting, let your
voicemail answer callers. That is why it is there. Show your appointment that
you value their time by turning off your cell phone and letting all your calls
go to voicemail. Then after your meeting, return those calls promptly. One of
the better tag lines that I have heard is: “I answer my phone or return all
voice messages or emails as soon as possible.” This is simple and very
powerful.
Do you return voicemails promptly and intelligently; do you
listen to voicemails before you return the call? There are people who never
return calls, even when you have been referred to them and you leave a
voicemail message letting them know why you are calling. These are not people
that refer to others since I do not believe that they value referrals. Don’t
hide behind your voicemail; use it to answer your calls when you are busy with
others and then return those calls, armed with the information from the message
that was left.
We all need to look at ourselves and examine what we find in
ourselves. We need to “see” how we appear to others. If they have the wrong
impression of us, maybe that is our fault; maybe it is how we “show” ourselves
to others. We just need to examine ourselves, and how we live our business and
personal lives, and see how we appear to others. Think outside the box in which
you live and work. Maybe you will like what you see; maybe you won’t.
If you don’t believe that you can be objective about your
life, how you live it, and how you do business, perhaps you should regularly
ask your networking partners for their thoughts. None of us is perfect, and all
of us have something that should improve. Our partners have a vested interest
in helping us be to better; they should be willing to be honest with us and
help us improve. The first step is to ask for their help.
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ReplyDeleteExcellent advice, suggestions Jim. Thank you. Judith
ReplyDelete