Many of the things that will get your clients talking positively about you require little effort and cost almost nothing to provide.

A friend of mine recently shared with me some research done by John Goodman.  Not the John Goodman from “Roseanne”, this John Goodman is the Vice Chairman of TARP Worldwide.  For those of you not familiar with TARP, they are considered one of the world’s premier organizations specializing in the customer experience.  (Check out their website – www.tarp.com)

The research looked at the cost effectiveness of trying to “delight” customers.  They were quick to point out that while there is certainly nothing wrong with trying to “delight” customers, some methods are definitely more costly and time consuming than others.

Their research found that efforts to “exceed the customer’s expectations” and “delight” the customer will lead to a 12-14% increase in the likelihood of your customer recommending you to someone else.

Not bad.  However, they shared four relatively simple actions that result in twice the likelihood of a recommendation.

1. Creating a personal connection by interacting briefly with your customer about something other than the basic transaction will increase the recommendation likelihood by 26%.
2. By telling a customer about a new product or service that fills a genuine need, an increase of 30%.
3. By providing consistently good service, 30%.
4. By proactively educating the customer about how to avoid problems or get more out of a product or service, 32%.

To summarize their findings:

• Be personally/genuinely interested in the whole person, not just the part of them that makes them your client.
• Deliver at a consistent, high level – we all want to know what to expect.
• Be aware of your client needs (not just those related to your typical transaction) – even if you can’t fix it yourself, just by introducing them to someone who can will earn you client goodwill.
• Proactively communicate/educate – don’t make them ask you for help.

There’s nothing expensive about these suggestions from either a time or dollar perspective.  I don’t know about you, but I would be delighted with anyone who did this for me!

Photo by hobvias sudoneighm.

@kevintrokey

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“One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and everything else don’t mean &*$#.” That is the secret of life according to Curly in City Slickers.

Now, I don’t know if that is truly the secret of life, but I do think it is a great start to finding the secret to your success. Okay, maybe there isn’t just one, one thing. Maybe your sales success is a series of “one things.”

In my article Willpower vs. Self-Discipline I discussed the difference between willpower and self-discipline. The main difference between the two being that willpower mostly focuses on a single act while self-discipline delivers repeated actions. Getting to that consistent, structured self-discipline takes a lot of work, and sometimes the hardest part of that is just getting started. So, I’ve got some suggestions to get you off the fence and start down your path toward self-discipline – one step at a time.

After all, you can do anything once, right? So, let’s talk about the things that if done “once” will deliver you selling success.

Daily ONE Things

Read
Read ONE article/blog from a source that understands your industry. You will be shocked at the opportunities you find to share what you learned.

Personal brand management
Share ONE idea/link/retweet via social media to enhance your personal brand. Give your prospects something powerful to find when they search you online, because they will.

Weekly ONE Things

Suspecting
Identify the ONE suspect (someone with whom you want to do business, but whom is not yet aware of that fact) you will contact this week to set up a meeting. Nothing is more important than filling your pipeline.

Prospecting
Identify the ONE prospect (someone who knows you want to do business with you and with whom you are having ongoing sales discussions) in your pipeline who you are going to move to a final decision. A stagnant pipeline is worse than an empty pipeline because it gives a false sense of security.

Client relationship management
Proactively contact ONE client this week for no reason other than sharing an article, an idea, or to just check in. Goes so far in building the personal connection.

Thank you
Send ONE handwritten thank-you note to someone who is making a difference for you. It may be the only piece of mail they actually read that day.

Referrals
Take ONE client or center of influence to lunch this week for the purpose of asking for a referral. Of course, be sure you have earned the opportunity to ask for a referral.

Practice
Role play ONE part of your sales process, with a partner, each week. Be prepared to execute your process, as well as to answer questions and objections that are sure to come up with prospects and clients.

Planning
Plan out your weekly activities. Instead of meeting each day not knowing what it holds, decide ONE time, at the beginning of the week, what things are the most valuable use of your time.

Monthly ONE Things

Team member relationship management
Take ONE team member out to lunch this month to learn how you can help them be more successful at what they do. I promise, the more you help them be successful, they more they will be able/willing to help you be successful.

Prospect research
Get online and do some in-depth research to find a group of potentially viable prospects. Search through your connections, your connections’ connections, your local marketplace, or industry resources to identify suspects and find possible links to get a referral or introduction.

Quarterly ONE Things

Personal development
What is the ONE business book you will pick up and read this quarter? Never stop learning.

Annual ONE Things

Planning
Take time to plan out your upcoming year with goals for prospecting, keeping prospects moving through the sales process, as well as sales goals. Outline how you plan to achieve these goals with your own personal marketing plan.

Book of business management
What is the ONE segment of your book of business you are going to pass on to someone else? I know this one is tough for producers to get their arms around, basically “firing” some of their clients, but it’s typically the right thing to do. When I profile books of business (ranking the accounts from most revenue to least revenue), I will almost always see that the bottom 25 percent of a book usually only generates 1 percent of total book revenue, many times only averaging a few hundred dollars of revenue per year. These accounts slow your growth more than you recognize.

So there you have it. If you need a little help getting started on that path to self-discipline, use the power you already have in willpower to get it going. You don’t even have to do all of the ONE things, just pick a few. But really, I think you have enough willpower to tackle them all. You just have to be honest enough with yourself and ask, “How badly do I really want it?”

Photo by Lululemon Athletica.

@kevintrokey

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I know that one of the most difficult things to do as a producer is to keep your pipeline full. And every day as I talk with producers, I see plenty of opportunity available for filling that pipeline – the easy way. And, at the same time, filling it with highly qualified prospects, with methods other than cold calling and networking/lead events. Let’s stop making it harder than it needs to be and focus on getting prospects through your existing, and already pre-qualified, network. It will be time well spent.

Let me ask you the same questions I have been asking the producers I coach:

• “How many referrals/introductions did you get from your clients last year?”
  • Typical answer – “Maybe a couple, but certainly not enough.”

• “Of those you did get, did you ask for them or were they brought to you?”
  • Typical answer – “Mostly they were brought to me.”

• “Of the referrals you received, how many did you close?”
  • Typical answer – “Almost all of them.”

Every producer recognizes the need for client referrals. When pushed, they will admit that they either lack the confidence or the ability to ask effectively. The real problem is they are afraid to find out if they have done a good enough job to earn a referral. This is because they never took the time to have a discussion with the client about what it would take to actually earn a referral.

1. You should be having the following conversation with every new client.

I appreciate the confidence you have shown in hiring us to be your broker. I know it is a high standard we had to meet in order to earn that confidence. However, I want you to know there is an even higher standard we are going to work towards, a standard that earns us the opportunity to ask you for introductions to other decision makers you know.

I would like to make sure we both can agree on what that standard looks like so we both know when it has been achieved. Since it’s the promises we have made to you that earned us your business, it is usually considered fair that once we have delivered on those promises the referral standard would have been met. At that point, you would hopefully be confident enough that we are an organization that not only promises the right things, but one that clearly delivers on those promises and does what we say we will do. Hopefully, at that point, you would be comfortable recommending us as an organization to which other decision makers should consider doing business. Is that fair? (Of course it is!)

2.  Let them know why it benefits them.

Beyond the obvious, referrals and introductions are a core part of our business model. You can see, by what we have promised to you, that our business model is one built on a high level of proactive service. For us to be able to deliver that level of service for the amount of compensation we receive, we have to continue to build our business off of high probability referrals. We need our team’s time to be available to serve our clients and deliver on those promises rather than waste their time quoting insurance for someone else’s clients. Make sense? (Of course it does!)

I understand that you can’t go back in time and have this conversation at the beginning of the relationship, but there isn’t any reason you can’t go to every client you currently have and have a modified version of the conversation.

3.  Now, let’s put this idea into practice and get your pipeline filled. Get out your entire list of clients and sort them into the following categories.

Tier 1 – Those clients for whom you know you have done a good enough job to earn referrals, and you know they feel the same way.
NEXT STEP – Go ask for referrals, like tomorrow!

Tier 2 – Those accounts where you have some level of doubt.
NEXT STEP – Set up a meeting with each client and have the referral standard conversation. Tell  them you realize the right time to have had this conversation would have been at the beginning of the relationship, but better late than never.  They will appreciate that you are recommitting to that higher standard, and I’ll bet many of them will tell you that you have already delivered at that level.

Tier 3 – Those accounts that have some level of tension. 
NEXT STEP – Be honest about why the tension exists and go fix it. Not until after you have fixed the tension and have been consistently delivering on a higher standard of service should you have the referral conversation.

4.  Don’t make them do your work.

Don’t ask clients who they know that they can introduce you to. If you do that, you’re making them do your work. Use LinkedIn, Google, etc. to identify boards they sit on, clubs they belong to, or other connections they have, and use that information to identify referrals/introductions they are likely to be able to make. Take them the list and ask for those specific referrals/introductions. And be sure to always ask them “the one” question.

“When you look at this list, who is the one company who immediately comes to mind that I should have included on the list that I missed?”

It’s funny, if you put a blank page in front of them, they likely won’t be able to add a single name. However, if you put a list of names in front of them, they will always be able to add one more.

Referrals/introductions are the lifeblood of a producer. Earning those referrals should be a natural part of every client relationship. You just have to communicate that expectation with your clients. Prospecting can be fun and easy; you just have to ask yourself the question, “How badly do I want it?”

Photo by Kris Hoet.

Just like you have to prospect for new clients, you may have to prospect for good referral sources

Just like not every client is a good client, not every center of influence (COI) is a good referral source.  However, before we get in to what makes a good COI, let’s define it.

Simply put, a COI is anyone who has established credibility and relationships with the decision makers to whom you want to be introduced. A COI relationship needs to be about much more than just trading names; it takes a commitment from both parties to invest the time and energy to truly understand one another’s value proposition. Because of the nature of a truly effective COI relationship, it isn’t practical to have more than a select few relationships you are trying to maintain. You need to identify the critical few who will provide the greatest return for your time, energy and effort spent.

Where to look
I often hear producers lament that they just don’t know anyone who can be a consistent source of referrals or introductions. It can be a little difficult to just look at a blank sheet of paper and start listing names of potential COIs. Instead of starting with a blank sheet, use the following list to identify potential COIs by type of relationship – you will be shocked by how many more names end up on your list.

Sources

• Family members
• Close friends
• Work friends
• Social friends (associations, church, clubs, etc.)
• Your professional team (CPA, attorney, etc.)
• Current clients
• Vendors and strategic partners
• Friends of your spouse and parents
• Parents of kids’ friends
• Former classmates
• Neighbors

Knowing what they look like
Now that you have your list of names, it’s time to filter the list down to those who will make for the most productive relationships. I was fortunate to sit in on a presentation given recently by Dean D’Camera, President of D’Camera Group out of Baltimore, Maryland. In his presentation, Dean did as good a job of identifying what makes for effective COI relationships as any I have ever heard. He suggests using the following characteristics as your filter.

Characteristics

• They are considered best in class (i.e. the best employment law attorney in town)
• They are considered a leader in the business community
• They are considered to be a leader in the community as a whole
• They have access to your ideal client
• You will be able to help them grow their business
• They are respected by their peers
• You share common connections

Know the rules of the game
As I mentioned earlier, COI relationships don’t come without a certain level of mutual understanding. Both parties need to understand the foundation on which to build the relationship.

Foundational requirements

• More than trading lists – If all you are going to do is trade names, don’t spend the time and energy on the relationship; just go buy a prospect list somewhere.
• Not a threat to credibility – Before either of you can be confident in making introductions for the other, there has to be a comfort level that credibility will not be jeopardized.
• Two-way street – Introductions have to be given both ways.
• Understand value proposition – Spend time to truly understand what the other has to offer.
• WIIFM (what’s in it for ME?) – Each party has to benefit themselves from making an introduction for the other.  In other words, the client to whom you made the introduction will be grateful to you for making an introduction that brought them value.
• Make the first introduction – Enough said.

How to maximize the relationship
As hard as it may be to find truly effective COI relationships, perhaps the hardest work comes from making that potential value a reality. Don’t just assume that developing a relationship will automatically produce your desired results. Making that happen requires a plan.

Guidelines

• Be very honest with one another as to why the relationship exists.
• Have a follow-up plan for every targeted introduction.
• Set up trusted advisor luncheons for mutual clients. These are meetings when all of the trusted advisors of a client get together to discuss the issues, challenges and opportunities of their mutual client; client is present, of course.
• Meet formally on a regular basis. This means having an agenda and defined outcomes you want to accomplish with the meeting.
• Do something for them before asking them to do something for you.

Bringing it all together
Having effective COI relationships should be a formal part of your growth strategy. Just like you have to prospect for new clients, you may have to prospect for COIs. Identify a list of “suspect COIs” in varied niches and start doing the research to identify those who measure up favorably to the characteristics listed above. Once identified, either look for a shared relationship to make a formal introduction or just make the call yourself. Don’t be shy about what you are hoping to achieve. After all, this is a relationship that will be beneficial for everyone involved.

Yes, it will take a fair amount of work. However, when you compare the almost 75 percent close ratio that comes from introductions to the 10 to 15 percent that tends to come from cold calling, the return is more than worth the investment. You just have to ask yourself, “How badly do I want a pipeline filled with introductions?”

Photo by Bruce Dupree.

It is so unfortunate, but it is the rare producer who truly takes advantage of what should be his/her greatest source of new business opportunities: existing clients.   For whatever reason, producers lack the confidence, determination, and discipline to make referrals an integral part of the client experience.  The result is that book of business growth is slowed dramatically and prospecting becomes more difficult than necessary.

Producers are usually hesitant to ask for referrals because, deep down, they aren’t sure if they have actually earned the opportunity to ask. 

If you will incorporate the following ideas into your sales process, you will find that the standard for earning a referral is mutually understood and agreed upon by both yourself and the client.   Helping one another (broker/client) becomes just another part of the relationship.

Set the expectation at the beginning of the relationship - Thank your new client for the confidence they have placed in you.  Assure them that it is well placed, but also remind them that you are able to deliver the high level of service they are expecting because you work off of referrals.  Therefore, instead of cold calling and chasing long shot prospects, you and your staff are there to service their needs.

Referrals have to be earned - You just earned their business.  Shouldn’t delivering on the promises you made to earn their business also earn you the opportunity to be introduced to other people they know?  Tell them,

“I know I haven’t yet earned the opportunity to ask you for a referral/introduction, but, after we have met all of the expectations we have set that earned us your business - would it be fair at that point for me to ask you for some referrals/introductions to other business owners who you know?”

I don’t think you will ever be told no.

Accountability – You made the promises of what would be delivered, now report back and make yourself accountable for, and get credit for, what you have done for them.

You have to ask – You set the expectation, you agreed on the standard to be met, you made yourself accountable for meeting the standard, now you have to ask.  Make it a formal part of the agenda for your continuation meeting (continuation of your relationship as the broker).  It shouldn’t be a surprise for them to see it on your agenda.  In fact, they will be expecting to see it there.

Make it easy – Do the research; know to whom they can probably make referrals and introductions.  When you get to that part of the agenda, share your list, and ask them an appropriate timeframe for them to make the call. 

Follow these suggestions and you will find yourself working off of nothing but referrals.  You may have to work at it a bit, but it sure is a lot easier than cold calling!

Photo by Anne Thorniley.