Tweet

Making Customers More Than Your Top "Priority"

Written by: Keith Ferrazzi

Article Overview: Recently, my firm was conducting training at a regional sales meeting of a big conglomerate. Our goal was to establish cross-divisional lead-sharing as a part of the company culture and to get everyone to understand how big of a win-win that practice can be.

Making Customers More Than Your Top "Priority"

Recently, my firm was conducting training at a regional sales meeting of a big conglomerate. Our goal was to establish cross-divisional lead-sharing as a part of the company culture and to get everyone to understand how big of a win-win that practice can be.

We devoted a big chunk of the day to active and quite fruitful lead-sharing. First, we got everyone in the mood, thinking about the importance of generosity to their success so they would be primed to share their leads with each other. This was pretty easy, frankly. The group really got it.

Then we asked them to look into their own backyards, the people they already knew through personal or business connections. It's always best to start with your closest relationships, because after all, a referral is only as good as the strength of relationship you have with the referrer. When everyone began naming the groups of people they already knew who might be able to provide sales leads, all sorts of constituencies popped up: family, friends, classmates and faculty from back in business school or college, professional service providers, suppliers, and the list goes on.

Ten or 15 minutes passed before someone realized that in the group's blind spot still sat one vital constituency, perhaps the most important and also, sadly, perhaps the most often overlooked. Customers!

When we're trying to generate great sales leads, why don't we think of our current customers? We hear everyone say, "Our existing customers are our top priority." I think we should make our customers our top generators of sales leads, too!

Who is the most knowledgeable about the value of your products or services because they actually use your products and services? Your customers.

Who is the most aware of other organizations who have similar needs as your customers? That's right. Your customers.

Who is the most concerned for your business success? Your investors, of course, then your customers, because their lives are easier if you, one of their suppliers, stay in business.

So when you sell and deliver products or services -- in my company's case, it might be marketing consulting, corporate training or big conference seminars or facilitation -- you should be sure to do the following two things.

1. Ask for testimonials. (This is an easy win, and if you're already doing it, good job.) You will be amazed how many people will say, "Of course I'll provide a testimonial."
2. Ask for referrals. "Who do you know who might benefit from the work we do?" Furthermore, ask right when your customers buy from you. I think the point of sale is a really great time to ask because it's often one of the high points of the relationship (hopefully not the peak, but certainly a high point). At the point of sale, our customers are feeling confident, smart, happy, and excited about their buying decision and their investment and trust in us. If they weren't feeling that, they wouldn't have signed the dotted line.

Since the inception of my firm's program with the conglomerate's sales teams I mentioned above, our client has found more than $55 million of new closed work and has generated nearly $500 million of leads for its pipeline -- all resulting from the systematizing of internal referrals between the company's sales divisions. The client's sales teams' new collaboration has produced great success so far, but I think the success will be even greater if they start making their customers more than their top "priority."

We should make our customers our top referrers, too. All it takes is checking that silly blind spot every month or so and having the guts to ask.

Related Articles
  Stress-Free Selling® - Close Three Times Faster
  Urgent or Important? Learn to Prioritize
  Increasing Your Profit By Looking At Your Data
  Crisis - What Crisis?
  Creating an Effective Landing Page

Article Tags: back in business, backyards, blind spot, business connections, business school, business success, chunk, classmates, company culture, conducting training, conglomerate, constituencies, constituency, existing customers, family friends, generators, generosity, professional service providers, regional sales, top priority



Related Forum Posts
Re: Two Useful Books To Help You Focus On The CLIENT - Hi David, To add to your thread, I'd like to recommend Jonathan Tisch's "Chocolates On The Pillow Aren't Enough: Reinventing The Customer Experience". Tisch's book includes content on "Welcoming Customers", "The New Art of Customization", "The Challenges of Customer Diversity" and "Offering Something Extra to Your Customers" to name a few.
Making Money in 2011 - Hello forum members! As we draw closer to the new year I thought it would be appropriate to change the title of our forum category "Making Money in 2010" to "Making Money in 2011" - I'm looking forward to some interesting discussions and wish everyone a prosperous New Year!
How to Do Great Marketing with (Amost) No Money - I've given this presentation to CEOs many times. Now i can share it with you. But I cannot because I do not yet have 20 posts. Jeff Ogden, President Find New Customers
Re: Are Business Owners too Old School to be Sold by a blog - [quote:140e27hj]Customers Pick Static Documents over Blog Entries 8 to 1 on Average[/quote:140e27hj] Interesting study. Just as a commenter said on your post... don't call it a blog. I agree.
Re: Essential Leadership skills - Vision Values Mission Strategic Thinking Decision Making Communication Team Bonding People Development Coaching / Mentoring / Guiding / Grooming Presentation Thanks Robert


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Are You An Accidental Consultant?

Executives and Elevators Perfecting That Pitch

What Type of Business Should I Start?

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.