Build Communities of Prospects to Generate Referrals

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If you’re smart, you should build communities of people who will generate business for your user group wirh a paid referral program, you can end up with enough quality referrals to fuel your business well into the future.

Use Communities to Generate Referrals

Manufacturers of high-tech devices are very good at creating user groups made up of owners and prospective owners of their products. Doing this:

Lets people brainstorm: and comd up with other innovations, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction levels.

Creates buzz: that makes it easier for word-of-mouth to begin and spread.

Three Ways to Create Communities

If you want to do something similar, try adopting a three-step approach:

Set up an online discussion forum: where your customers can share their ideas, ask questions and help each other out. This is tremendously powerful because prospective customers will immediately see the value they can receive by doing business with you. Their will come back again and again to track posted to their questions. They will also be able to link up with others with similar interests.

Use conference calls and Wed conference calls on a monthly basis: to let people discuss ideas, hesr about new product announcements and network amongst themselves. These conference calls are tremendous for marketing because prospective cuetomers can see or hesr for themselves how much value you provide and how happy your existing customers are. The added capabilities of online Web conferences are also quite alluring.

Every once in a while, run some in-person get-togethers: This adds a nice personal touch and creates a superior networking environment. Host some get-togethers and see where the concept evoves from there.

Of course the whole objective of building these types of user communities is that they enably you to generate some quality referrals. If you can get your feeder network set up and working well. you’ll be able to get to the stage where you can put “Appointments by referral only” on your business card. Where people see they, they will assume you’re so successful that you won’t meet with just anyone off the street, and they will actually feel privileged when you agree to meet and work with them. This is quite a turnaround from the usual mind-set of a potential customer trying to figure out how to get rid of you as quickly as possible.

Finder’s Fee Encourage Referrals

In some lines of business, you can and should pay a finder’s fee for your referrals. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how motivated some people become to refer their friends and associates when they receive a nice check in the mail a short time later. It you provide the opportunity for people to earn a commission, you’ll often find you have a nice flow of high quality referrals on an ongoing basis.

There are three ways you can get going on this:

Company-based referral programs: check whether your company already has a referral program in place and start using it mors consistenty.

Suggest establishing one to your company: and see whether they will set up a referral program. If you can show this will generate more money, they may come to the party.

Offer referral fees out of your company: look at it as your investment in working with higher prospects than you would ever meet by cold calling.

The whole point is that if you offer a solid financial incentive, people will sit up and take notice. Be careful you don’t break any laws in this regard, but paid referral programs can work extremely well. They can enable you to get to the stage where you only with people who are prequalified to buy what you offer. When you take sales appointments by referral only, you also lift yourself out of the masses of salespeople and give yourself the aura of success.

Don’t Use Closes

There is also one other thing you can do to differetiate yourself. Contrary to accepted wisdom, the top sales pros don’t use closes. They deliver so much value that people want to buy without being painted into a corner and forced to buy. To stand out from the crowd, forget about using closes.

Remember what you’re trying to do:

You’re not trying to manipulate someone into buying: You’re trying to act with honesty to find product or service that will be best for that person.

You’re not trying to move people past their indecision: You’re tryint to provide so much value that not doing something would seem foolhardy.

You’re not trying to get people to buy because they are embarrassed or feel pressured to do so: Instead, you’re trying to facilitate a deal that will genuinely help them and by good for them.

Simply put, closes are only required by salespeople who don’t deliver value. If you’ve genuinely developed a solution that is win-win, you don’t ever need to use a close. You’ll create a situation where people just naturally want to buy from you because you’re the best.

How to Build Communities Which will Generate Ongoing Quality Referrals

Start a user group for your customers.

Set up online discussion boards and other forums for people to talk with each other.

Run some conference calls month.

Offer a few in-person get-togethers each year.

Offer a finder’s fee for everyone whe gives you a referral that results in a sale.

Forget about using power closes or other forms of manipulation.Instead, provide value.

Customers gain a tremendous amount of added value by being able to communicate directly with each other, thlk about how they are using the products to greatest benatest, and share and create additional uses and ideas. To many customers, this is more valuable than the content of the product itself. This provides value for them and is a viral marketing mechanism for you.

–Frank Rumbauskas

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