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Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Paul McCord
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Article Title: Unlock The Untapped Commissions In Your Client
Database
Author: Paul McCord
Word Count: 829
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=101351&ca=Marketing
Format: 64cpl
Author's Email Address: pmccord[at]mccordandassocites.com
(replace [at] with @)
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=101351
================== ARTICLE START ==================
Right this minute, you are probably sitting on tens of
thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of
commissions. Most registered reps have a database of current
and past clients whose potential referrals are worth several
thousand additional commission dollars per month. Yet, this
resource goes virtually untapped for most advisors.
Why? Simply because most reps have not learned how to
successfully convert their client relationships into referral
relationships. Acquiring referrals from clients is not as
simple as �doing a good job� and then asking for referrals.
Generating a large number of highly qualified referrals from a
client is a process that starts from the moment the prospect is
first met, not a one-time act after the sale has been completed.
It requires an understanding of what a successful referral is
based on, and how to exploit the referral to insure a
successful contact with the referee.
Every referral involves the interaction of three people and
four relationships among those three individuals. The strength
or weakness of each of these interactions will influence the
success or failure of the referral for the advisor:
1. The Advisor/Client relationship: In order for the client to
be willing to give a quality referral, there must have been
built a strong bond of trust between the rep and the client. A
client may give a �referral� to someone they do not trust, but
they will not give a referral to someone they know well and
respect if they do not trust the salesperson. If there is only
a weak bond of trust between the advisor and client, the
�referral� the client is likely to give will be to someone the
client either believes will not meet with the advisor or
someone the client does not know well or respect.
2. The client�s purchasing experience: Clients will not give
high quality referrals if their purchasing experience did not
meet or exceed both their expectations and their priorities.
All clients enter purchasing relationships with certain
expectations and priorities. Expectations and priorities are
not the same. A client may expect to be kept fully informed
during the course of the sale and may have certain product or
service functionality requirements as his top priority. In
order to receive a large number of high quality referrals, the
rep must make sure that they meet or exceed both the client�s
expectations and priorities. Despite the current parroting of
the buzz phrase, �exceeding the customer�s expectations,�
meeting and exceeding client expectations is seldom
accomplished. Few people take the time and effort to discuss
with their client what the client�s expectations and priorities
are�rather most reps, and companies, assume they know. At best,
all they can knowingly accomplish is meeting or exceeding their
expectations of what they think their client should expect.
3. The Client/Prospect relationship: The trust and respect
relationship between client and referee are of great
importance. The stronger the bond of trust and respect between
the client and the prospect, the easier it will be for the
advisor to set an appointment with and then sell the prospect.
In referral selling, a great deal of the rep�s credibility, or
lack thereof, is built on the trust and respect the prospect
has for the client who made the referral. If the
client/prospect bond is strong enough, the rep is virtually
guaranteed a sale. On the other hand, if the bond is
particularly weak, the referral is little better than a cold
call. Consequently, it is of utmost importance for the advisor
to know as much as possible about the client�s relationship,
and likely bond of trust, with the prospect.
4. The advisor�s initial contact with the referee: based on the
client/prospect bond, the advisor must determine how best to
contact the prospect to produce the greatest opportunity to
acquire a meeting. The weaker the relationship between the
client and the prospect, the stronger the contact method the
rep should seek to employ. If the client/prospect relationship
is extremely strong, virtually any contact method, including a
phone call from the salesperson mentioning the client�s name
will suffice, but for a weak relationship, the rep must strive
to use the strongest contact method possible. In descending
order, from weakest to strongest, possible methods of contact
include a phone call to the prospect from the advisor, an email
from the client, a client letter, a client phone call, a
client/prospect/advisor lunch meeting.
Fortunately, the advisor can control most of the above
interactions. Only the client/prospect relationship is
completely out of the rep�s hands. Even then, the rep can
compensate for a less than ideal client/prospect relationship
through using a stronger initial contact method.
If you understand the foundation of a referral, you can quickly
increase your referral-based business and begin to mine that
gold mine in your client database.
About The Author: Nationally known author, trainer and leading
authority on prospecting, Paul McCord's latest book Creating a
Million Dollar a Year Sales Income is avaiable throughout the
US and Canada. He also offers a free ebook Understanding
Referral Generation: A Primer at
http://www.powerreferralselling.com
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=101351
================== ARTICLE END ==================
For more free-reprint articles by Paul McCord please visit:
http://www.isnare.com/?s=author&a=Paul+McCord
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