‘Sales Rejection’
Winning Referrals
I just received the following email from Ira, who is a property and casualty insurance agent. He has a very interesting question about referrals and since this is such a big topic among salespeople and business owners, I thought I would share my reply with you:
Warren,
I just found your site via your BusinessWeek interview, and I really enjoy your content.
I wanted to ask you a question regarding referrals. About a year ago, I got into the commercial insurance industry. I provide small to mid-size companies General Liability coverage, commercial vehicle, property insurance, etc. I am very fortunate in that I am quite often able to lower their costs without sacrificing coverage and am able to provide outstanding service to my clients.
My question is: how do I get these guys to understand that I really am trying to build my business with referrals and have them give me some names, intros, etc, without them feeling like they are putting another sales guy onto them? I feel like if I can save someone 40+%, they should be willing to help me out by giving me some guys to contact.
What are your thoughts?
My first thought is that Ira is hurting himself mainly because of his perceptions (sales sterotypes). Ira is not only providing a valuable service to these business owners, but in his own words states, “I am quite often able to lower their costs without sacrificing coverage and am able to provide outstanding service to my clients.”
Anyone who can do that is not selling; they’re helping, which is what successful salespeople do. A salesperson like Ira who saves clients money while delivering quality service is not another sales guy out there bothering people.
Good salespeople who deliver lower costs, asset protection and quality service are the kind of people clients and prospects WANT to see. This makes it Ira’s obligation to get referrals. Rather than “putting another sales guy on them,” don’t you think Ira’s clients would love to refer him to fellow business associates knowing that if he does the same for them, it wil help their businesses?
I think the issue Ira has is quite common. He’s afraid to ask for referrals. He shouldn’t be, especially since he does such good work for his clients. But while Ira states, “they should be willing to help me out by giving me some guys to contact,” the first rule of referrals is: "You have to ASK!" In referrals and in life, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. You cannot sit around and wait for something to happen; you have to MAKE it happen.
Here’s what Ira should do:
- Make a courtesy call to each one of his clients.
- Ask each one of these clients for three names. When asking for referrals always ask for a specific amount. Don’t use open ended questions like, “Do you happen to know anyone who might be able to use my service?” That’s the kind of question that usually gets you a big fat NO!
- When speaking to his clients, Ira needs them to agree with him that they are more than satisfied with everything he’s done for them and then ask them if they know three other business owners, they are friendly with, who they feel could benefit, much like they are, from his services.
People know and hang out with others who are just like them. In Ira’s case, his clients are business owners. I guarantee each one of them knows other business owners.
Referrals are the life-blood of a successful business. A prospect who has been referred by a satisfied client is more likely to buy and more likely to become a long term repeat client.
So remember the three rules of referrals:
- ASK!
- ASK for a specific number
- ASK the kind of questions that can be answered. (Could you give me the names of three business owners you know who might benefit from this service?)
Links to past articles on winning referrals:
Be Your Prospect’s Security System
As many of you who read this blog on a regular basis know, my son, Michael decided to take a year off from school this year and work full time. You also know from past articles that he is a delivery man for a local pizza place in Chapel Hill.
Two nights ago, Michael came home with one of those great sales stories that reinforce the importance of follow-up. About six months ago, the owner of the pizza place was approached by a salesman who sells security cameras. The system the owner was using at the time was antiquated; one camera and a VCR.
The system the salesman was proposing had 3 or 4 cameras with digital technology, with surveillance accessible online via the internet. To entice the owner to buy the system, the salesman offered to let him use it for free on a three month trial basis.
Three months went by, and no salesman; four months and no contact from the salesman; five months, nothing. Finally after six months, the owner gets a call from the salesman who says, “Hey, I let you use that system on a trial basis for three months, it’s been six months and you never called to tell me if you wanted to buy it.”
YOU NEVER CALLED TO TELL ME IF YOU WANTED TO BUY IT!? Is this guy kidding? You have to wonder how much business is lost because far too many salespeople decide to wait for the phone to ring.
Not only is it the salesperson’s responsibility to call the prospect, but I would think, as a salesperson, you would want to be the one calling rather than the one waiting for the call; otherwise you’re not in control.
In our office, we have a line we use in these situations. Whenever a prospect says to us, “We’ll call you,” we always say, “Don’t bother,” and then pause a split second for the effect to sink in. We then say, “It’s not your responsibility to call us, it’s our responsibility to call you.” Then we settle on a time for our follow-up call, leaving us in control of the situation.
In case you’re wondering what happened with the owner, he said to the salesman, “Why should I call you? You’re supposed to call me.” The salesman attempted to justify his lack of follow-up with "not wanting to be pushy," and finally asked, “So, are you interested in buying the system?” The owner said, “No,” because even though he loved the security system, he was more afraid of dealing with a salesperson with poor follow-up.
Just imagine! If it is not enough that you have a prospect with a security need and a great product that ensures the physical security of a business, then what does that tell you about the importance of visibility and follow-up in taking control of the buying process?
Show your prospect first that they can rely on YOU as their "security system," AND THEN GO SELL THEM A SECURITY SYSTEM!
Effective Prospecting: Handling the “No’s”
Salespeople literally let the word “No” paralyze them. They live in dreaded fear of someone saying “No.” This tiny two letter word is what keeps most salespeople from ever becoming successful.
Not only does the fear of hearing “No” stop far too many salespeople from prospecting for new business or closing sales, it also stops them from going back to those people who have said “No” in the past. They’re so scared the prospect is going to remember them and get mad at them for being a pest. So instead of going back, they do nothing. But that is not the reality of the situation.
First of all, “No” today only means “No” today. It does not mean “No” tomorrow, the next day, the next week, month or year. How do you know you didn’t catch that person on a bad day? Maybe he just lost his best customer? Or, you walked in right after the boss chewed him out. It could be there’s a problem at home. All we know is that we know nothing.
Second, I know we all want to believe that we’re the most memorable people in the world, but believe me, we’re not.
Your prospects have better things to do than remember every salesperson who has solicited them. They don’t have a Rogue’s Gallery of pictures on their wall with a caption that states, “Beware of these salespeople. We’ve already said ‘No’ to them.”
Just to prove this point I want to relay a story I heard today. It was told to me by a woman named Christine. Christine is a successful agent, advisor and financial professional for a large financial services company. She works mostly in the education market. Most of her clients are teachers and other school system employees. Almost every day, you can find Christine in a school building looking for new business and servicing her existing clients.
One day, at the beginning of her career, she went to a school she had never been to before. She needed to get information from the principal’s secretary, and then permission to solicit in that school. It turned out the woman she thought was the secretary was only covering for the secretary, and not knowing the answers to the questions, excused herself and went to get the principal.
Upon seeing Christine, the principal asked what she thought she was doing there; she had no right to be there, he didn’t want her there, and in no uncertain terms, told her to leave the building. Christine apologized profusely and offered him a bag of Tootsie Rolls, which she always carried with her as thank-you gifts for the school secretaries.
The principal looked at her and said, “I like Snickers.” Christine left and went to her car dejected, but she didn’t give up. She did not let the “No” stop her, and that was one hell of a “No.”
She went back two days later armed with a bag of Snickers. She walked into the principal’s office, asked if she might be able to see him and found out he did have some time to spare.
When he came out of the office, Christine handed him the bag of Snickers. He looked at her and said, “How did you know I liked Snickers?” TWO DAYS LATER HE HAD NO IDEA WHO SHE WAS!
Christine has not only done business in that school, but now has the principal as a client. Christine did not let fear stop her and she was smart enough and persistent enough to know that “No” today only means “No” today.
Prospecting Tip – The “Warm-Up” Letter
I just received a call from a gentleman named Pierre who is a financial advisor working for a major bank in Canada. Pierre called to tell me he had just listened to my online audio program on prospecting, and that he really enjoyed it and had a question.
He wanted to know if when preparing to make your sales calls, after identifying who you will be calling, if it would be helpful to send an introductory letter to each person telling them you will be following up with a phone call? The answer to this is not as cut and dried as you might think.
First off, for those of you who think sending the letter makes the call “warmer,” it only makes the call “warmer” for the caller. The people receiving the letters either don’t read them or forget about them anyhow. On the other hand, and this is what I told Pierre, if sending a letter will make it easier for YOU to overcome the FEAR of calling, then, by all means, send the letter. Sales call reluctance is one of the biggest problems salespeople face, and anything you can do to motivate yourself to generate more sales activity is a good thing.
If you are going to send out a letter before the call make sure, at the end of the letter, you write, “I will be calling you on such a date and at such a time to set up an appointment so we can discuss this further.”
By doing this you are also making sure you keep the focus on what you want to achieve (getting the appointment) during the call. Also, you just might find there will be a small number of people who will actually be expecting your call.
For more help with prospecting and sales rejection, please see my other article on overcoming sales objections.