Back in 2006, after spending pretty much my entire B2B career in sales management positions, I made the decision that I wanted to go back to sales only. Furthermore, I wanted to work as an independent contractor.
My choice was electric sign sales where the bulk of my latter time had been spent. Mind you, I had left that industry two to three years prior but I had always loved it. Commercial construction, which drives this business, was running high in Boise, Idaho.
I set out to document every new commercial project, every new tenant move, that I could find. I ended up with a list of close to 500 potential opportunities and then I did the unimaginable. I tore that list up. Instead, I had an epiphany.
Despite my hiatus from the industry, I still had connections and relationships with a lot of the major players. My focus would be on reconnecting those along with cultivating new relationships that would lead to referrals. What salesperson doesn’t love a good referral? Can you say … incredibly high closing ratios. I have worked almost entirely on referrals since that day in 2006.
Additionally, I joined a leads (networking) group. It was terrible, but I did sell a $65,000 sign after my first meeting. I had built my own networking group back in 1992 so … I ended up building a new group of my own, but this time I would actually own it and run it as a business.
No amount of planning replaces pure dumb luck. The recession hit in 2008 and I was forced to pivot. The sign business was dead, but the group business was good and I built two more. My services transitioned to the groups and to consulting.
I’ll be 72 next month. I’ve been in some state of semi-retirement for 10 to 15 years now. Working for me is more like a hobby. The lessons I learned regarding networking and referrals have allowed me the luxury of not having to work even part-time if I so choose. Here’s how I did it.
Let’s start with five on how to get and give referrals …
Earn the right – This first one is the most important! All of your efforts to gain referrals will be contingent on you earning the right to receive or to ask for referrals. They will be earned, not given!
Your behaviors – I recently published a post on observable behaviors. Others will assume that, whatever your behaviors are … those will be the same behaviors that you will exhibit should they refer you to others. You must be perceived as being RUM! Your behaviors should consistently demonstrate that you are Remarkable, Unique, and Memorable!
Referring is a tricky business for the referrer. When they provide a referral to one of their valued clients, they are providing that client a valuable service. Or not, depending on how you will treat that client. There is nothing worse than a referral that goes badly!
Teach others how to refer to you and refer using this same formula – “I gave your name to someone recently and they should be calling you” is not a good referral.
Rather … “I gave your name to Jenny Smith with Smith and Company and I told her that you would be contacting her. Jenny’s company does packaging and he expressed a need for your services. Jenny’s email address is jenny@smith.com and her phone number is 867-5309. Be sure to use my name!” … is a good referral.
Give to Get – Bob Burg wrote the book “The Go Giver” with the premise that if you give first you will get back. It’s human nature and he is correct.
Keep your referrer informed – In addition to copious amounts of “please” and “thank you”, be sure to keep your referrer informed of how their referral is progressing regardless of whether this is good or bad.
Now here are five more for ensuring success with your referral partners …
Identify power partners – It is critical that you identify those people and industries who will have the highest likelihood of referring you and vice versa. For example, when I was in the signage industry, my power partners were commercial realtors, property managers, developers, architects, and general contractors.
However, there were certainly others! A new business needs signage, furnishings, office equipment, security, printing, phones and internet … the list goes on and on!
Show genuine interest in others – Take the time needed to learn all you can about your power partners including: what they do, what their company does, who their target markets are, what makes them different, what would be the best referrals for them, and how they would like to receive referrals.
Engage consistently – Out of sight, out of mind. If you expect your referral partner to be thinking of you 24 hours a day vs. concentrating on their own business … wake up! I had a couple of commercial realtors that referred me. Occasionally they or a client would call me up. But, when I took these guys to lunch, I always walked away loaded!
I represent Nimble CRM. Nimble offers several easy-to-deploy features to ensure that you stay in touch with your prospects, clients, and power partners including: workflows, tagging, group messages, tasks, and a cool little feature called the stay in touch reminder. Book a free consultation with me if you would like to learn more!
Promote others – You’re partners, right? Well, partners promote each other and this includes on social sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Instagram … wherever you frequent.
If in a networking group, ALWAYS bring something to the group – Networking groups are like team sports. If you are not actively and consistently contributing to the team, you will be viewed as a blood-sucking pariah which … you probably are. Remember. Givers get!
Please be sure to check out these top 100 sales blogs on Feedspot. I am honored to be one of them!
Are you thinking about a CRM? If you would like to explore whether or not Nimble CRM might be right for you, please book a free 30-minute Zoom consultation with me by going to my calendar. To learn more about our Nimble training and implementation services, please visit our Nimble CRM training services page.
In addition to Nimble CRM, I also offer sales training and training on LinkedIn as well as getting started with AI (Artificial Intelligence). I can even assist with hiring new salespeople with initial interviews and pre-hire DISC personality assessments.
I would also be happy to connect you to a marketing professional who I know and trust or to an automated yet personalized and human-to-human LinkedIn prospecting system. Please reach out to me at craig@adaptive-business.com for an introduction!
Craig M. Jamieson
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