Tell them, Tell them, Tell them!

Imagine your business as an infinite web of relationships. Every one of your business contacts has the potential to connect you to dozens of other contacts. The relationships are out there, but they'll likely remain out of reach unless you actively pursue them.

It may never occur to your current contacts to broker an introduction. It's up to you to put the idea in their heads. Don't feel sheepish about asking for referrals; there's nothing pushy or smarmy about it. People won't give you referrals unless you deserve them. In fact, getting a referral is the highest compliment you can receive. Let your customers know you prize referrals, which you'll earn by providing excellent quality products and services.

"My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far I've finished two bags of M&M's and a chocolate cake. I feel better already." - Humorist, Dave Barry

Your action for today is to treat yourself to a small indulgence

How does your team make the connection

It has been a while and I thank everyone for there emails of support..anyway on with today's tip.

As important as stating who is a great referral, is how to make that contact. This one came to me as a blinding flash of the obvious. If you are a printing company and specifically ask for a referral to the owner of a local lotion manufacturer, your sales force needs a little more information on how to make that connection. Why is that a good referral for you? If I know that owner, what should I tell them? What should I ask them? How can I get you in front of them? When it is not obvious, it is your job to bridge that gap by training your fellow members how to generate this referral, after all you are the expert in the types of clients you are after and how to best find them. Don't keep that a secret, share the how and why and most importanly give constructive feedback afterwards.

"Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

Your action for today is to renew your enthusiasm for something where you've suffered some setbacks

7 Factors that INFLUENCE CONFIDENCE so people REFER YOU!

Last week we touched on how to build trust and what things could influence the level of confidence people need to refer you, so here they are.

Seven main factors that influence the level of confidence are the following:

1. What profession you are in?
2. The size of your referral group
3. How supportive the group is
4. How well you educate the group on what you do
5. How much business you give to others in the group
6. How committed you are to the group
7. How good your relationships are with others in the group

The last item is the most important factor in gaining confidence. The following will help you improve the relationships with the people in your referral group.

• Show the group you are committed.
• Always have a positive attitude.
• Help your fellow members become successful.
• Get together outside the group and dicuss what and how you can introduce them to your contacts.
• Give them dynamic testimonials for the websites etc.
• Always thank members when they give you referrals.
• Visit every members place of business.
• Organise and host social functions.
• Be proactive in your group. Get involved in chapter operations.
• Befriend all members in your chapter.
• Use the services of other members when you can.
• Sit with members you don't know well.

We are conducting a POLL and we need your HELP for 1.5 seconds. Move your eyes to the right of this article and answer, "When is the best time to network? "

"Obstacles can't stop you. Problems can't stop you. Most of all, other people can't stop you. Only you can stop you." - Author, Jeffrey Gitomer

Your action for today is to see if there is something that you want that you have stopped going after

7 Factors that influence confidence so people REFER YOU!

Recently a business person who attended one of my "Referral Pipeline" courses asked, what's the quickest way to have people build confidence with me, so that they refer me business, and what is the best group to join to do that. Well, I think most of you know my answer, BNI of course, but what amazed me was what she said next, "OK, but which chapter is the best one to join". I told her that great relationships need time to build and that trust needs to be earnt. It is not a matter of which group to join but rather where and how much you can put into building those relationship.

This person seem to think that because her existing referral group wasn't referring her, that things would get better if she just changed groups. The answer is simple, Relationships are not greener on the other side, they are greener where they get watered. What are YOU doing to build your relationships. If you nuture and build them, the trust will grow on they will refer you like crazy. Next week I will share 7 factors that influence confidence so that people refer you MORE, FASTER and BETTER clients - stay tuned.

"You've got to stand for something, or you'll fall for anything!" Country Western Artist, Aaron Tippin

Your action for today is to reflect on one of your core values and reaffirm why it matters so much to you.

When Good customer service is NOT enough

If you think good customer service is enough these days, think again. Customers expect good service and if they don't get it they tell every man and his dog. Good service should be a given now days, customers need good service but when they get GREAT, FANTASTIC, AMAZING customer service, people begin talking as well as referring.

I received AMAZING service from Julie at Olympus Australia (Camera) this week and it made me think, who do I know that could help my contacts understand how to give GREAT, FANTASTIC, AMAZING customer service to their clients. Let me introduce Nathan Williams a (Customer Care Specialist) who has put together his 5 best customer relationship tips.

Bullet Proof your Business by Nathan Williams

As your competitors pick up the phone and call your clients in an effort to win new business, your customer retention may well be affected. If you're not talking to your customers, then someone else will be. Here are 5 customer relationship tips to think about.

1. Maximise the effectiveness of your sales and marketing budget?
Most businesses focus on new business, yet it's up to nine times more profitable to sell more to an existing customer, than to try and acquire a new customer. Repeat customers also spend up to 33% more than new customers. Ensure that you have a customer retention strategy in place that helps you to maximise business from existing clients, and leads to more business being referred.

2. Why are you missing out on business, and why are some of your clients now inactive or not referring you business.
Only 4% of people will, on average, tell you the truth about what they think of your business. This is why it's referred to as the 'Customer Complaint Iceberg.' Worse still, for every negative experience (which you'll rarely hear about), a customer may tell five people, who in turn tell another eleven people. Unless you can find a way to proactively get the truth from your prospects and clients, you are operating with a blindfold on.

3. Can you prove how good your service is?
Customers become more discerning in a downturn and will look for quality. Any mechanism that demonstrates how good your service is (as opposed to you just talking it up or testimonials which everyone has), will help separate you from the herd. You need a compelling reason for customers to use you - this is a major benefit of using an independent expert.

4. Why is communicating with your customers important!
What customers say about you (and not what's in your brochures) is your brand. This knowledge uncovers the true essence of your business and can give you some great ideas for what to focus on, what to discard and what to develop as businesses and consumers re - evaluate what's important.5. Should you stay close to your customers and get positioned for the next boom Now is the perfect time to stay close to your database so you can profit when the economy improves - this is the time to focus on client retention. This in turn will lead to new business, because not all businesses look after their existing clients well.

This article was written by Nathan Williams. If you have any questions feel free to contact him on 0410 471 200 or at nwilliams@customercaregroup.com