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Why Business Cards are Old Hat

Written by: Christine Sutherland

Article Overview: Remember someone telling you that your business card was your “24-hour sales person”? Well they had no clue what they were talking about, because now there's a simple alternative that actually works!

Why Business Cards are Old Hat

The Referral Card

Imagine these two scenarios:

Scenario 1 You are talking to a potential client whom you’ve never met before. You have got to the point where you’re telling them about the product or services you have to offer and of course you are doing your best to get the message across that this is a truly wonderful service or product that they simply must have.

Scenario 2 Your good business friend Mark is talking to one of his valued and trusted friends whom he has identified as a potential client for you. He is telling them about the product or service you have to offer and is quite excitedly getting the message across that your product or service is so wonderful that they simply must have it.

Which of those scenarios would be more likely to lead to a sale? How many “Marks” do you know who like you, trust you, admire you, and would enjoy letting their many friends, family, colleagues and customers know all about you?

Makes sense, doesn’t it? And how enjoyable for you, in turn, to be actively recommending business friends whom you like, trust and admire. How enjoyable to watch those people who so deserve to succeed, going from success to success and knowing that you played some part!

That’s what intelligent networking and strategic alliances are all about. And the attitude that makes it work is one of giving. In the words of Zig Ziglar “Help enough people to get want they want and they’ll help you to get what you want.” I should add “help enough decent people to get what they want …..”, because there are also users in this world who’ll quite happily take your time, energy, and help, and then try to rip you off. Do deals with people who share your principles and values, and avoid others like the plague they are.

Likewise don’t think that a handshake is an acceptable alternative to a written contract. The courts are littered with the victims of “friends” who found it convenient to forget the “deal” when the value of the deal became bigger than their integrity.

In order to help your strategic alliance partners (your “centres of influence”) in turn help you more effectively, give them a supply of business card sized “referral cards”. These will have an introduction to you on the front (and preferably your photo), and a list of identifying “triggers” on the back.

Look for an example in the book “Take Your Team to the Top” available on our web site.
You can give out these cards to strategic alliance partners for them to fill in and give to people to then contact you. If you give someone a stack of referral cards, they’re more likely to use them.

A second way you can use these cards is to have a referee fill it out in front of you, also writing the phone number of the referral for you. Have them handwrite the name of their friend/colleague at the top, and sign their own name at the bottom. This is a powerful introduction! After use, this card should be stapled to the prospect’s index card and every time you make progress (or not) with that prospect, always let your referee know how you did, and send a thank you card or note afterwards.

Canny salespeople would have a spreadsheet or database software which enabled them to track referrals by referee. Referees who are looked after will refer again and again! The more great feedback they get, the more they’ll refer you.

As an extra tip, always say to your referee “And when can you give them a call to let them know I’ll be in touch, so that they’re expecting me?”

Warning: Select your strategic alliances, or centres of influence, very, very carefully. Do this for at least two very good reasons:

1 These people are more than just business colleagues or associates. You’re entering into a long-term relationship with them and therefore you’d better be sure you share common principles and values and that you have a genuine liking and respect for each other. You should be comfortable enough with such a person that you’d feel quite at home inviting them to, for example, dinner with friends and family. To behave otherwise would not only be disrespectful, but in time will be downright uncomfortable. Like a bad marriage, it just won’t work!

2 Good people tend to know good people, and idiots tend to know idiots. What sort of referrals do you want? Choose carefully or you could find yourself referred to a whole bunch of hassles!

Meeting Potential Strategic Alliances

Without doubt the very best way to meet people with whom you can work to help each other in this way is via live networking or professional Web 2.0 communities such as My Speed Business Network.
Build alliances only with people who are on your wavelength, who share your principles, values and visions. For this to work well for all concerned, the integrity of the relationship must be rock-solid. Always be on the lookout, not for deals, but for people you “take a shine” to.

Take your diary to networking and arrange times to have coffee, a drink or a meal in order to get to know them better. Don’t try to fake interest. Only arrange these kinds of meetings when you genuinely feel that you “click” and it’s mutual. Don’t push yourself on people. They may see you, but they’ll resent it, and that’s not a good start to a relationship.

The most important questions you can ask in order to help people are “What does your typical client look like” (so you know who to look out for on their behalf) and “What are two of the biggest frustrations you face in your business” (so you know what some of their needs might be).

Case Study - The Case of the Funloving Salesperson

Tim was a used car salesman – and really a young kid just starting out. He had a real range of clients, and he liked them all, but being a young, single man, he especially enjoyed working with gorgeous girls his own age. He would enjoy his work even more if he had lots more young female clients, and why not?

Solution

We recommended that Tim add some customer service that would get this particular client group talking and sending all their friends specifically to Tim. Flowers and chocolate seemed like a good idea!

Now Tim would deliver the car the next day (even if it was a “bottom of the range” used car) along with the flowers and chocolate and his special referral cards.

In addition, Tim got to know staff at local nightclubs and gave them his referrals cards to hand out. He even went to netball games and gave his referral cards out there!

It wasn’t long before droves of young ladies were arriving in the yard asking for Tim!
If you’d like help to develop a strategy for your own referral card, grab a copy of our manual “Take Your Team to the Top”, and come and enjoy the personalized, free help on our professional forums on www.speedbusinessnetworking.com.

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