Word of mouth advertising and getting referrals

[prostarprofitsdotcom]

In the book “The Science of getting Rich” which says when you do certain things in a certain way you will get certain results. You may have heard that sales in a numbers game.

When you look at your referrals what did you have to do to generate that referral. The book E-Myth, The Referral Engine, & Referral Flood all talk about how to turn your word of mouth marketing into a system.

When I first started my last business I made a list of 11 people that I knew not with the intent to sell them but to network with them. By showing them my new business and asking if they know anyone who would be the perfect customer for my new business?

I originally called 11 people and made 8 referrals and 8 sales.

I have used this approach with a number of my students who average a 20% referral ration and 10% closing ratio. So this is one way to track your word of mouth advertising.

Respectfully,
Chris Brown

[Cornelius]

The system you just explained is basically working your warm market.. Something that always seemed kind of funny to me is when people say they don't want to market to their warm market. that kind of say they would rather sell a product they don't really believe in to others..

I think if you think your product or service is a valid product or service then offer it to family and let them tell you no.. especially if it's a business that can be willed to a family member.. that way if it ever happens they can't get mad when the other family member who listened or bought from you inherits the business and get those fat renewals from the business you have built up.

[EstherL]

Cornelius, I agree with a lot of your points. I never understood the whole "I don't want to talk to my family and friends" thing either. If you believe in the product or service, why WOULDN'T you want to share this with the people who are closest to you. However, I agree with the OP in that a lot of times, we need to be more proactive about getting referrals. Therefore, whenever I get a "no", I try to remember to ask for a referral. It might not be right for that person, but that person knows several hundred others who it might be right for. I am still working on this skill.

Good idea to track your rates and find out what you need to do to get the # of sales you want!

[jammintj]

Hmm... good points everyone! Yea, if you can't talk to someone about your product then I think that's kind of weird-- no matter who it is. Just my opinion.

[HomeBizHope]

I hope you don't mind my comment on this post, but at least it's a different perspective on the friends/family issue.

I've been with various companies over the years and at this point my warm market doesn't want to hear from me about any new products I might want to show them. My family bought from me initially, but then when I couldn't find enough people to buy to cover my costs, I quit. I kept trying other companies and not succeeding (I know, definition of insanity!) but the the products sounded great and I thought "something new" could be the ticket!

Even with my current company, which is service related, I've come up against a lot of scepticism from people who I never had prospected before. Because my circle of influence is with a very conservative group, I have people who I've shown the business to who won't even TRY my service (at no cost to them), so therefore won't give me any referrals!

So, I truly feel that online prospecting/cold market is the only way for me to go - my ego/feelings aren't wrapped up in my success or failure. It just allows me to say, "Next!"

[Cornelius]

HomeBizHope if your warm market is dried up the next best thing is to recruit someone.. They will have a warm market.. That's the true nature of the business. There are many people today who need extra income or even basically have no clue about how they are going to retire... Find out what their concern is and fill that need with your opportunity.. Always give people the opportunity to say no thank you..

With the products and services I market I know what the future will probably hold because as the saying goes there's nothing new under the sun.. So once people tell me no thank you to my products or opportunity I have no problem with it because it's a decision they have made.

Just keep speaking to most everyone and somebody will see the need.. All it takes is just a few to get things rolling..

[DeeAmber]

I can definitely understand where people are coming from in regards to their warm market. My business partners and I teach our team how to utilize their warm market without ever being put in an awkward position or risking their relationship with them.

Like many, I also enjoy going after those who are not in my warm market for obvious reason. However, the 2nd point comes up---you must be able to generate a steady supply of those leads. This is something else that my business partners and I specialize in.

So long as you have plentiful leads, you generally never have to touch your warm market. I know I haven't, so far.

[HomeBizHope]

That's the main issue I have right now Cornelius, I haven't been able to recruit hardly anyone either because at the moment I don't have a good source of leads. It doesn't help that my company is only available to people in about 5 states at the moment. It really limits where I can recruit and how I recruit.

Originally Posted by Cornelius

...if your warm market is dried up the next best thing is to recruit someone.. somebody will see the need.. All it takes is just a few to get things rolling..

[LorettaA]

I'm currently getting referrals by being a product of the product. It's an old saying but it stills works. People are coming to me asking me what I'm doing.

I've had to go outside my warm market many times with my other business, but not so with my health/wellness business. My warm market is coming to me. My warm market makes up the bulk of my customers right now, which is a huge shift from what I'm use to.