7 Sure-Fire Ways to Build Your Referral Business...

Growing a business is tough work. The sales function is a time consuming task with a constant need to fill your "sales funnel" with fresh, qualified prospects on a regular basis. Finding the best qualified leads from your business does not come from a cold contact situation but from building a strong referral business. Discover the the benefits plus 7 tactics to drive the referral marketing for your business.

Referral Marketing Benefits....

The business of referrals makes sense for most companies for the following reasons:

·  Referral marketing reduces your sales expenses and sales cycle. With less time calling cold prospects, your small business can focus on customers and their circle of influence.

·  Referrals can build your level of satisfied customers. The cycle self-perpetuates with more satisfied customers referring others to your company.

·  Referrals increase your sales revenue. According to world-renowned sales trainer, Tom Hopkins, in "Sales Prospecting for Dummies"; your closing ratio for non-qualified leads is 10 percent versus a 60 percent close ratio with referred leads.

If the prospect of building the referral end of your business is so enticing, why do so few businesses do it? Because they use the wrong approach in building referrals and have limited success. To ensure your business is on track to building referrals, follow these 7 tips:

7 Sure-Fire Ways to Build Your Referral Business

1. Set A Target: In business, measure the results to improve performance. Set a clear goal with a time line. Example, 10% increase in referral business over the next 10 weeks.

2. Timing: Conventional sales wisdom claims the best time to ask for the referral is immediately after the close. This tactic is far too aggressive. Give your clients time to experience your service or product before asking for a referral. Ask for the referral at close only if your client is already delighted with your business.

3. Top 20: Not all customers are referral candidates. Find the top 20% that are ecstatic about your business and ask them for referrals. Make sure their network is the type of client you want.

4. Give and You'll Receive: Give your clients extra service and follow-up support before asking for referrals. When you give willingly to your customers, they will return the favor.

5. Type of Customer: Inform your referring clients of the type of customers you can help. Provide a clear picture of the customer demographics will help your referral marketing.

6. Rewards Program: Provide special rewards to your referring customers on a regular basis. If a customer provides you with 5 sales, offer them something special, e.g. discounts.

7. Thank-You: Lisa A. Maini, President of my Marketing Manager, recommends businesses need to establish trust to build referrals. Lisa says, "Create a basic thank you letter that can be personalized and sent to each referral you receive. Treat your referral sources with the utmost of care and you will not only build a foundation of trust but keep hot prospects coming to your door."

These tips are simple but when executed on a regular basis they can drive your referral business and build sales revenue. Start today and watch your referrals grow.

Chris Wilkinson.                              

Certified Business Behaviour & Attitudes Analyst.               

Business Coach.

Tel: (905) 275-2907 (Mississauga

Develop, Implement and Reinforce a Pay-for-Performance Culture......

The importance of having the best people in key areas is critical to the success of your business. It's no secret the key to retaining the best and brightest talent is recognizing and compensating top performers. According to Giga Information Group, retention can be improved by meritocratic management–or pay-for-performance - by up to 27%.

Establishing an employee pay-for-performance culture is considered the #1 tool for achieving financial results by leading executives. Today's HR technologies now give managers easy access to all the information they need to reward individuals for actual performance–360 degree feedback, goal alignment metrics, review data and performance notes taken throughout the year. This allows managers to make consistent, quantifiable and fair decisions, and avoid compensating the wrong people. Other positive benefits include the ability to:

·                                 Track employee progress against pre-agreed performance goals.

·                                 Identify who is delivering against expectations, and contributing the most.

·                                 Improve ongoing employee job satisfaction, productivity and retention by recognizing and rewarding exceptional effort.

Avoid ‘salary bracket creep’ overcompensating by seeing  exactly where compensation and performance are not aligned.

Chris Wilkinson.                              

Certified Business Behaviour & Attitudes Analyst.               

Business Coach.

Tel: (905) 275-2907 (Mississauga).

E-mail: buspilot@bell.net

Dogs, cash cows, problem children & stars.
Examine each individual product or service group in your range and place it onto the matrix. Where are the products/services of your rivals in this matrix?

Each cell has its own name as follows.
Dogs
These are products with a low share of a low growth market. These are the canine version of 'real turkeys!'.  They do not generate cash for the company…. they tend to absorb it. Get rid of these products/services!!
Cash Cows
These are products/services with a high share of a slow growth market. Cash Cows generate more than is invested in them. So keep them in your portfolio of products for the time being.
Problem Children
These are products/services with a low share of a high growth market. They consume resources and generate little in return. They absorb most money as you attempt to increase market share.

 Stars
These are products that are in high growth markets with a relatively high share of that market. Stars tend to generate high amounts of income. Keep and build your stars.
                Look for some kind of balance within your portfolio. Try not to have any Dogs. Cash Cows, Problem Children and Stars need to be kept in a kind of equilibrium. The funds generated by your ‘Cash Cows’ are used to turn ‘Problem Children’ into ‘Stars’, which may eventually become Cash Cows. Some of the Problem Children will become Dogs, and this means that you will need a larger contribution from the successful products to compensate for the failures.
Here are some definitions of the four terms above. Which is which?
(i) Low market share and low market growth
Star? Dog? Problem children? Cash cow?

(ii) Low market share in high growth markets
Star? Dog? Problem children? Cash cow?

(iii) High growth markets with relatively high share of the market
Star? Dog? Problem children? Cash cow?

(iv) High market share, but slow market growth
Star? Dog? Problem children? Cash cow?


Can you employ this matrix in your business?

Chris Wilkinson.                              

Certified Business Behaviour & Attitudes Analyst.               

Business Coach.

Tel: (905) 275-2907 (Mississauga).

E-mail: buspilot@bell.net