Business Marketing No More Cold Calling

I recently read a book that made me rethink how I market myself to others and wanted to share it with you: "No More Cold Calling" by Joanne Black. The essence of the book is that the odds of selling something to people you don't know ("cold leads") (either by email, phone, ads, or US Mail) is extremely small and therefore expensive. Ms. Black recommends spending time working on your referral networks.

Identify your ideal customer. Ask people you know if they can give you a referral to one or two people that meets your ideal. You don't just want the names of the people - you want them to contact your referral and have them tell about you themselves. If you're thinking, "This seems like I'm asking a favor for my business" - you're right. It's a favor you're asking because people really want to help and be helped. Be sure to respect that someone has entrusted you with a referral and make the favor be mutual. Another approach is to join one of a number of referral-based organizations.

By spending time pro-actively building your referral network it'll result in a higher "close rate" and better clients as well. You can still do your "cold lead" development to keep your branding going, but referrals, she claims, is where it's at.

Here's who I'm looking for: a small business owner who is ready to change his or her day-to-day business practice to leap in front of their competition.

Who are you looking for?

Business Marketing No More Cold Calling - To learn more about this author, visit Jay Hamilton-Roth's Website.

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