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Simply Speaking Increase Sales By Remembering Qualified Sales Leads Are a Two-Way Street

Written by: Leanne Hoagland-Smith

Article Overview: Do you belong to a formal networking group? Not getting enough referrals? Possibly the answer is that you are traveling a way one street.

Simply Speaking Increase Sales By Remembering Qualified Sales Leads Are a Two-Way Street

Business networking continues to grow within the U.S. Small to medium size business owners and sales professionals gather together weekly to find more leads. In many instances, formal associations are formed on a weekly or monthly basis specific to the process of giving and receiving referrals. Many of these fine folks appreciate a good referral, but are for the most part clueless about what it means to give a good referral.

Referrals for many have become a one way street of receiving and not giving.

What does a good referral or better yet a qualified sales lead look like? To be able to answer that question suggests that you understand the person for whom you are referring. If you do not understand what the business or person does, securing a solid lead is very difficult. What this means is you must invest some time to know the person you are referring. Also, it helps if you can actually make a purchase of their goods or services if appropriate. In this manner, you have first hand knowledge of the person to whom you are sending all of these referrals.

Now is the time to learn what a good referral is not:

• A business out of the telephone book or local chamber of commerce membership directory
• A business discovered on the Internet during a recent search
• Someone you just meet and exchanged business cards

To qualified as a solid referral also means that you have taken the time to understand the potential referral that you are making. Sometimes, referring to early before you have a better knowledge of the referral’s situation spells disaster for the person to whom you are giving the referral.

If you belong to a formal business networking group, can you:

1. Quickly identify the target market of each member of the group?
2. Explain the unique value that each member brings to the market place?
3. Make a good referral that is believable and authentic?

For those who cannot answer these questions with a positive response, this may suggest that you are on a one way selfish referral street. For those who can answer positively, then you may be traveling the two-way good referral street using good sales skills and this may help to explain how you continue to achieve your goal to increase sales by giving and receiving qualified sales leads.

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Article Tags: business cards, business networking group, business owners, chamber of commerce, clueless, commerce membership directory, formal associations, formal business, hand knowledge, instances, li li, local chamber, medium size business, qualified sales, referral, referrals, sales professionals, target market, telephone book, what this means



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