Author: Bill Cates

As you become more referable and even ask for referrals, if you’re not careful, your referral marketing efforts might start to generate prospects who don’t fit your business. What do you do if you receive a client referral that just isn’t a match?

I have an important question to ask you! If a prospect is not right for your business, are you right for them? Probably not. Yet do you ever take on clients who aren’t a good fit for you? Probably so. But why? Often, the answer is because your client took the initiative to refer a friend to you, and you felt obligated to take them on.

According to the IRS, roughly 39% of the wealthiest investors — those with assets of at least $625,000 — are women. In the affluent women’s market, there are over one million women with a net worth of at least $1 million. Females make over 80% of buying decisions. It’s no wonder that many financial professional aspire to capture their share of the growing affluent women’s market. If you hope to attract and retain more affluent women as clients, you better have a plan…

I was watching a movie last night and a guy said to his girlfriend – who was miffed at some of his behavior – “But I can change!” Can he? Can people change? My answer is a resounding, “It depends!” Usually someone won’t change their behavior until the cost of that behavior outweighs the…

During a phone call with a client, planning the agenda for a speech, my client wanted to make sure I would address how to ask for referrals over the phone. And while asking for referrals (and getting introductions) is usually best done in person, it’s certainly possible to be effective over the phone. Heck, most of the referrals and introductions I receive are accomplished this way.

The first part of Newton’s First Law of Motion states, “A body in motion tends to stay in motion. A body at rest tends to remain at rest.”

Do you ever get stuck in your own inertia? Of course you do! We all do from time to time.

I think it’s a safe assumption to say that oftentimes our “inertia’ might be due to lack of confidence in taking effective action. And if we don’t feel confident, what do we feel? Doubt? Fear? Yup! Fear is the flip side of confidence.

Is necessary to create a Unique Value Proposition? Not necessarily. Many writers and experts claim, “You must be unique to stand out in a crowded marketplace!” I know plenty of wildly successful businesses and professionals who would struggle to define what is unique about their offering.

The truth is, your prospects don’t necessarily care “what makes you different.” They really want to know “Why are you right for me?”

How you talk about your value is fundamental to your success. It’s not a bad thing to create differentiation between you and others who do what you do. But more important than a Unique Selling Proposition is a Compelling Value Proposition; a value proposition that creates movement… that turns prospects into clients/customers.

From age 10 to 22, my mentor was a family friend by the name of Bill Wilks. I worked for Mr. Wilks as a sales assistant for his business. I’ll never forget one day – near the end of a long day as we finished a project – Mr. Wilks asked me a question. “Billy Cates! Would you like to make a lot of money some day?” Naturally I replied, “Yes sir. That would be great.” (That was a time when young men and woman called their elders “sir” and “ma’am.”)

He leaned into me and, almost whispering, said, “Billy… one way to make a lot of money in this world is to help other people make more money.”

If your prospects are not returning your messages or your referrals seem to go nowhere, then perhaps you are not providing them with a compelling reason why they should respond.

On May 23rd I’ll be hosting a complimentary webinar designed to help you develop and communicate a compelling value proposition. While there are many things to consider in developing a compelling message, today I’d like to address 6 critical elements that should be present whenever you talk about your value.

When I first started giving a lot of speeches on sales, motivation, and referral marketing, I found myself traveling home on airplanes – often very late at night. I noticed that on these late flights, I seemed to have a lot of negative, doubting thoughts. I would even start to feel a little depressed. I was starting to hate the travel associated with what is usually exciting and rewarding work.

So I did a little research and found the tittle quote from legendary football coach, Vince Lombardi. He is SO RIGHT! When we are tired, our courage and positive attitude seem to disappear, only to be replaced by negativity, fear, and inaction.