Keep the Referrals Coming

A key method of our survival in the business and retail world is referrals. Referrals are always nice, because they come from someone on the outside of your company who has enough trust and faith in you to refer someone in your direction.

When we receive a referral from someone, it seems like an easy way to get a sale, but keep in mind, referrals don't come without first building relationships with your current customers, and within your business community.

There are several ways to get referrals, but perhaps the easiest way to get them is from the people closest to you, the people right in front of you. Your current customers.

Your current customers will refer you business solely on your past treatment of them. If you treat your customers with kindness and sincerity, give them good products, and treat them as a person and not as a statistic, why on earth would they not refer their friends and family to you.

The extra couple of minutes you spend with your customer to make sure that they are happy and satisfied when they leave the table should result in a few referrals coming your way.

Think about it. Referrals just for being nice.

Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to getting referrals from your customers, is to just flat out ask them to refer you someone.

There are two ways you can go about doing this;

If you have a new customer and you have just wrapped up a sales session with them, thank them for their business and hand them two business cards. One is for them, for obvious reasons. And the other is to give to a friend or family member that may be in need of your services.

Trust me, you won't run into any objections, and this is a great way to keep your business card in circulation.

Another thing you can do with your current customers is call them from time to time. Say quarterly or every six months. Tell them that you are calling them to follow up, or to make sure that they are satisfied with your services. Then go on to explain to them that you are also calling to see if they have anyone in mind that may be in need of your services that they can refer. If they say no, than leave it at that, kindly thank them for their time, and hang up the phone.

A great way to obtain referrals is to join community-based organizations.

Here are few for you to consider:

Lions club, rotary club, coaching little league sports, Chambers of commerce, and church involvement.

The above-mentioned organizations are a great resource for obtaining referrals once you have established yourself within the group. They also give you the opportunity to build relationships and make a few friends with some of the business leaders within your community.

I always saw them as a great way to break up the monotony of your work week. The majority of these groups often meet once a week for lunch at local restaurants for an hour or so.

Keep in mind these luncheons are not free, so make sure they fit into your budget.

Once you receive a referral, make the most of it. Don't take it for granted. Call the person immediately, or make time to sit down with them at a time convenient for them

Remember, once a person refers someone to, you are automatically representing not only your company, but you are representing the person that referred you, and you want to make a good impression.

Imagine if someone was referred to you by one of your business associates, and you never followed up with them, or just let the information sit around for a few days, or your service was less than satisfactory. Do you think that person would ever refer someone to you again? Doubtful.

So when you get a referral, make the most of it, make sure the person doing the referring knows that you are taking the referral seriously and that you are doing everything you can in your power to satisfy that potential customer. It will keep the referrals coming.

There are people in business and in sales who have built such good reputations for themselves, that all of their business comes from referrals. They got to this point through years of hard work, networking, and providing excellent customer service. Make it your goal to get to this point. Hopefully, some of the above-mentioned ideas will help. Good luck!

Jay Conners has more than fifteen years of experience in the banking and Mortgage Industry, He is the owner of http://www.jconners.com, a mortgage resource site, he is also the owner of http://www.callprospect.com, a mortgage lead company.

---

Increasing Short and Long Term Profits

"I was at your site for all of two minutes... Read More

Top 10 Ways to Sell your Product or Service While you Sleep - Part 2

Part one of this article is available at ... Read More

I Don?t Want To Be Sold; I Want To Buy

I went shopping for clothes today.My plan was to buy... Read More

Aikido and The Art of Cold Calling

Imagine being in a crowded concert or bar. All of... Read More

Caring - The Secret Sales Strategy

Sales information resource Just Sell, calls caring "sales love". Here's... Read More

Customer Service Revival

Value is in the Eye of the BeholderSales today is... Read More

What Not To Do With Your Leads

Anyone that works in sales knows just how important it... Read More

Breaking the Ice and Winning Over the Client

Wherever you turn these days you'll find articles covering every... Read More

Top 10 Ways to Sell your Product or Service While you Sleep - Part 1

Have you wasted valuable time and money on promotion that... Read More

Whats Your Clients Style?

When it comes to effective selling, one simple fact never... Read More

How to Build A Steady Stream of Customers--Step One

The success of a small business depends upon a steady... Read More

How to Write Testimonials that Sell CDs Like Magic

"Which is your best CD?"Ever get that question? My band... Read More

10 Important Things To Tell Your Prospects

Hello everyone, hope your day is going well! I know... Read More

How To Get Rich Giving Away Something Free

The best of all worlds is to have a product... Read More

The Never Ending Sale

Once you have added a new customer to your book... Read More

Why Write a Sales Letter for Each Product?

Authors/publishers are great at getting their books written. Entrepreneurs know... Read More

The Relationship Between Colour & Sales

Make no mistake that emotions are the driving force behind... Read More

How to Give Your Customers a Choice Between You and the Competition and Have Them Choose You

Instead of giving your customers or potential customers a choice... Read More

Selling Services

Selling a service isn't the same as selling a product.... Read More

Going Back To Get Ahead

Have you ever run DOWN an escalator that was going... Read More

Creating Your Perfect Pitch!

Why should you describe your business to others in 5... Read More

Sales Training from the Ghostbusters

Picture this scene from the 1984 smash comedy movie from... Read More

Referrals: Getting Good Business By Doing Good Business

Whether you're a conventional sales person, a professional ? such... Read More

Talking To A Prospect As If To A Friend

While working with a new coaching client, I asked to... Read More

How to ASK for Business -- WITHOUT appearing Pushy --

GIVING Vs "SELLING"Never lose sight of the importance of providing... Read More

How to Blow Rapport Really Fast

Do you have 5, 10, or 20 years of sales... Read More

Selling: an art of a skill?

Selling is as much an art as it is a... Read More

Define Your Best Customer

To be more effective at developing relationships, one should always... Read More

Tips for Increasing Your Profits with Gift Certificates

Offering gift certificates is an excellent way of increasing sales... Read More

What is Lead Generation?

Lead Generation is vital to all businesses. All companies try... Read More

Why Are We All So Afraid?

What can strike terror into the heart of even the... Read More

YOUR Future Profits -- Protect Source With CARE

At 21 years, just out of Business College, I went... Read More

Buying Wholesale Mannequins

Many mannequin manufacturers sell their mannequins in wholesale. This means... Read More