Author: Bill Cates

You know what scares the pants off of me? A missed opportunity for a referral. Unfortunately, I see professionals falling victim to these 3 unconscious REFERRAL KILLERS way too often. The scary truth is, if you’re making any of these super-common (and easily avoidable) mistakes, you’re probably inadvertently sending all the wrong messages to your clients … and killing your chances for getting introduced.

Sometimes the strength of a great introduction makes the “sales process” quick and painless. Your prospect knows what you do, wants what you have to offer, and is ready to take action. If this does not happen for you with at least 10-20% of your prospects, you probably aren’t securing strong enough introductions.

Here are 5 typical and costly mistakes I see professionals making in their efforts to convert a prospect into a client (and how to avoid them).

I have a colleague who told me that he never pays attention to his competition. He doesn’t care what they do. He just focuses on his business. On the other hand, knowing your competition can certainly be useful.

Here are three views on talking about your competitors for you to consider and apply to your business. You’ll see that they are not mutually exclusive; but can (and should) be blended together for maximum effectiveness.

Getting a consistent flow of referrals and introductions from advocates is not just about asking for them. It’s about creating a culture of referrals and introductions. Here are 5 simple things you can do to enhance that referral culture in your office – that will help you receive more unsolicited referrals and introductions to Right-Fit Clients™.

If you’re like me, you’re always trying to figure out how to get better results from Linkedin. On one hand, you don’t want to look like a LinkedIn spammer. But on the other hand, you don’t want to be passive to the point of wondering why you have so many connections if nothing ever comes of them.

So, what’s the best way to approach prospects (and potential strategic alliances) on LinkedIn to maximize your chances of creating productive connections?

Voicemail purgatory! This is a real place, you know. This is where weak, unanswered voicemail messages go to die a lingering death. If you ever leave a voicemail for a prospect that goes unanswered, the harsh truth is that it’s probably because your voicemail wasn’t relevant and/or compelling enough to trigger a response.

Did you hear that Twitter is purging millions of accounts every day? In Twitter’s case, it’s because they had millions of “fake” accounts. However, this concept got me thinking about the concept of purging in general, and how many of us (myself included) are guilty of holding onto clients long past when we should. So, how do you know when it’s time to fire a client?

Athletes use a pre-game routine to reach peak performance during the game. Musicians use a pre-concert routine to be at their very best when the baton drops. What about you?

Check out Bill’s pre-appointment checklist with 5 things you must do to prepare for a meeting where you plan to ask for introductions.

We have all received emails and LinkedIn messages where it was obvious someone had just copied and pasted a generic note. If you want your electronic messages to be noticed, don’t make this same mistake! Click here for 5 easy tips to make your messages more relevant and personalized.

Most discussions about Relationship Marketing revolve around the concept of client satisfaction and client loyalty. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. But that’s just one of 5 critical components that should be part of your relationship marketing plan. Keep reading to discover which “missing links” may be holding you back.