Category: Referral Commitment

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.”

I just read this short article from Jill Konrath. It got me thinking. Do I make this mistake? Yup! I probably do. While the example she gives may not fit your world, the concept probably does. I would advise you to not just read this and say to yourself, “I need to be better at this.” Think through this. Think about some of the questions you ask your prospects and new clients. How can you remind yourself to incorporate Jill’s advice?

Last week I talked about the 3 Ways the Word “Promise” Can Grow Your Business. This week, I want to illustrate how a simple promise we make to ourselves can have a profound impact on our life and our business. For this, we have to go back to January 12, 1966.

As a dedicated reader of the Batman comic book series (DC Comics), Michael was sitting in front of his television set – eagerly anticipating the first episode of ABC TV’s Batman series. But when the show began, Michael was stunned at what he saw.

Growth is vital to any business, but if you want exponential growth to skyrocket your revenue referrals are key. So how do you get those referrals from your clients? Is it with high net promoter scores, by simply asking or is it something else?

Our guest today has the answers. Bill Cates is the CEO and creator of Referral Coach and he’s known as the expert on referrals! On this episode we’ll talk about the myth of customer loyalty, the biggest mistakes he sees companies make when asking for referrals and his formula for generating for personal introductions.

I just read this blog post from JULIE LITTLECHILD. Definitely worth reading AND acting on what she says…

If you’re like most successful advisors, you’ve already segmented your clients based on the value they bring to the business. And, if like most of those same advisors, this took place more than a few years ago, there is a good chance that both you and your business have changed to the point of making your model meaningless or, at least, outdated. Is Your Segmentation Still Relevant?

If you want to make 2016 a great year for introductions to quality prospects, you have to be careful not to make the mistake of creating merely an Introductions Initiative to get more referrals and introductions. An initiative will only yield short-term, temporary results at best.

Well… what about an Introductions Program in 2016? Only if you want a modest increase in new clients through referrals. What’s better than that?
If you want a thriving business based on Introductions to qualified prospects – then you want to build a Culture of Introductions throughout your firm. Here’s how to do that…

Do you have a plan for following up with prospects or are you winging it? When you engage with a prospect for the first time, do you already have another 5-7 ideas for following up in mind? Or do you give up after a couple of attempts?

When you do follow up, are you just “checking in” or are you moving the prospect along toward a decision? Here are a few ideas to keep the courtship alive…

I found this blog post from Anthony Robbins inspiring. I have big goals for 2016. Do you? Perhaps you need a “Massive Action Plan.”

Are you satisfied with the percentage of new prospects who turn into appointments? If you are, then you can ignore this article. On the other hand…

The #1 reason for unsatisfactory appointment-setting ratios is: “Lack of a compelling reason for why they should meet with you now – versus later, versus never.

Crafting a compelling reason is almost always easier to do when you’re working from referrals and introductions. Let me show you how…

Go from Incremental Growth to Exponential Growth

Before we get to the 3 Strategies, let’s start with a simple formula you can use for any aspect of your business. Nothing magic here; simple and effective: Vision > Strategies > Tactics. Unfortunately, most professionals and business owners go straight to the tactics. They have a great idea and implement without much regard for the overall vision and strategy. While the idea might be sound, the results will be limited.

For the purposes of this article, let’s use this vision: In 2016 We Will Build a Culture of Growth through Personal Introductions. Can you get behind that vision? I suspect you can. Now… on to the 3 Strategies to support that.