ArticlesBase.com - Free Articles Directory
Free Online Articles Directory
21.08.2008 Sign In Register Hello Guest
Email:
Password:
Remember Me 
forgot your password?


The Most Underused and Powerful Method of Lead Generation

Author: Jim Klein Author Ranking Bronze | Posted: 05-12-2005 | Comments: 0 | Views: 242 | Rating:  (54) Article Popularity - Blue (?) Got a Question? Ask.
Sign Up Now!

Are you worried about whom you'll sell today so you can feed your family tomorrow? Are you jealous of the top producers who are getting phone calls from new prospects every day? Wouldn't you love to come to the office and find your mail box full of messages from potential clients?

I'm going to show you the easiest, quickest and most effective lead generation method to grow your business, using word of mouth or referrals.

Referrals are the most effective way to create a steady stream of customers for your product or service. In most businesses referrals generate over 70% of their sales. However, salespeople spend the least amount of time, money and energy developing referral sources.

Doesn't it make sense to put your focus, attention and resources into the lead generation activities that will reap the greatest benefits?

If you aren't currently using a system to generate referrals, you're leaving thousands of dollars on the table and missing out on a golden opportunity to skyrocket your sales.

According to statistics, the average person has a relationship with 250 people!

In other words when you write a list of everyone you know personally, it will likely add up to around 250 people.

What this means is that every client you currently have opens a door to 250 more!

So, when you know how to get your clients talking about your business, you'll have a big network you can easily tap into.

Could anything be better for lead generation for your business?

Developing referral sources begins by creating relationships. Smart sales people will break even or even lose money to create a relationship with a new customer.

Why?

They understand that once they have a relationship with a client, selling to them becomes much easier. So it makes sense to do whatever you can to create new relationships.

Word of mouth is a very powerful tool. When you harness the power of word of mouth, you can build relationships with hundreds of people through the network that your clients have.

Since we all trust our family and friends more than we trust sales people, getting a new client by referral is easier than getting a new client by any other means of self promotion.

A referral gives you instant credibility with the family and friends of all your current clients. When your clients refer someone to you or your business, they are giving you a personal endorsement. They're saying to that friend or family member they trust you and whatever bond you have with your clients can and often will get transferred to their friends when they're enthusiastically told about you.

According to industry sources, customers who come to an individual or business by referral:

* Spend more money on each purchase * Buy more often * Are more loyal * Refer more customers * Trust your advice

So by seeking out referrals you'll increase your income and have more time to enjoy life.

Most of the time getting referrals is free. Even if you do spend money to maximize your lead generation by referral it's the best place to spend your marketing dollars.

In order to get referrals on a regular basis and to continue to grow that number over time it's important to have systems in place and a plan for generating referrals.

Rate this Article: Current: 0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s).

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/sales-articles/the-most-underused-and-powerful-method-of-lead-generation-8262.html

Print this Article Print article   Email to a Friend Send to friend   Publish this Article on your Website Publish this Article   Send Author Feedback Author feedback  
About the Author:
In the next article I'll share with you how to master referrals. It's part of my free sales training. Don't forget to sign up for our free ezine The Sales Advisor and get a copy of The 12 Mistakes Salespeople Make...
Submitting articles has become one of the most popular means of generating quality backlinks and targeted traffic to your website. Join us today - It's Free!

Article Comments

Comment on this article Comment on this article
Your Name
Your Email:
Comment Body
Enter Validation Code: Captcha


Related Articles

Secrets Of A Successful Marketing Partnership
By: Paul Mccord | 23/04/2007 | Marketing
I recently received an interesting e-mail from a gentleman in the UK asking if marketing partnerships really work. He had approached a number of potential partners and many expressed interest in forming partnership, yet nothing got done. There seems to be quite a bit of interest right now in marketing partnerships....

Three "Secrets" To A Successful Networking Event
By: Paul Mccord | 23/04/2007 | Marketing
Are you one of the millions of small business owners and professionals who have attended networking events held by the chamber of commerce or a business organization and found the experience to be far less than what you had hoped? Attending networking events has proven to be frustrating and ultimately a...

You Can't Scream Loud Enough
By: Paul Mccord | 01/12/2007 | Sales
Marketing is not about how loud or how often you can scream. Rather, marketing is about learning how to communicate with prospects in ways they will accept and respect.

Seven Ways to Immediately Increase Referrals From Clients
By: Paul Mccord | 01/12/2007 | Sales
The mega-producers who build their business from client referrals use a disciplined, predictable process. But here are 7 quick techniques to help increase referrals immediately.

Using Incentives to Get Referrals
By: Paul Mccord | 01/12/2007 | Sales
Although there are better ways than incentives to get referrals from clients, if you do want to use incentives, makting the incentive highly personal is more effectiv than making it big.

Cold Calling: the Myth of Cold Calling 2.0 and Other Urban Legends
By: Frank Rumbauskas | 17/08/2007 | Business
Learn why the idea that there are new ways to cold call in our new economy are a myth, and why cold calling - in all forms - is forever dead.

Successful Selling and the Theory of Relativity
By: Lee Salz | 07/04/2008 | Sales
Are you as successful as you can be? Are you limiting your personal growth? In this article, you will learn how to remove all barriers that prevent you from maximizing your success.

The 10 Laws for Selling Success
By: Drew Stevens | 09/05/2008 | Business
Sales professionals must create magnetic appeal to increase closing efficiency. Ironically, with the intrigue of technological miracles the foundation of sales success exists upon 10 principles. Since the beginning of trade, selling has not changed, nor have these laws. These principles as they have for centuries are the laws that attract numerous clients and create successful selling professionals.

Got a Question? Ask.

Ask the community a question about this article:

Frequently Asked Questions

Speed up the Commitment Process
By: jonelle | 01-11-2007
A lot of my clients that commit to sales, take a while to get back to me... I end up freaking out and waiting around stalking them with voicemails. Any way to speed up the process without tons of messages?

What are the leading e-commerce affiliate programs for bloggers and social network profile pages?
By: Kuchmuch | 29-10-2007
What are the leading e-commerce affiliate programs for bloggers and social network profile pages? 

I have had a job offer from worldwebpromote.com as ...
By: tupelohoney17 | 25-09-2007
I have had a job offer from worldwebpromote.com as an Internet Manager for their PPC division? Is this a legitimate company, are they proven to provide results for the companies they represent?

What's a fair commission rate to pay a VP of Sales ...
By: Troublemaker | 12-09-2007
What's a fair commission rate to pay a VP of Sales?Here's the scenario: A VP of Sales and Marketing for an early stage company will be doing some direct selling during his first year with the company in addition to other strategic duties. Other factors are base salary: $75 - $90K; Sales cycle 3 - 6 mos; Deal size: $100 - $200K.  What's a fair commission rate?

You can give perfect strucuture of direct marketing.
By: dharamendra | 12-09-2007
You can give perfect strucute of direct marketing.

Do you think America should be selling $20 billion ...
By: AnyaGarcia | 29-07-2007
Do you think America should be selling $20 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia?  What do you think this would accomplish in the delicate political situation in the Middle East?

Q&A Powered by:
Powered by Yedda 

Latest Sales Articles

Tips for Purchasing a Suit
By: Mejo John | 21/08/2008
Advice float from any nook and corner, and every fashion designer or a fashion expert would advice you on the matter of a suit. They would say that it is essential that every man has atleast one nice suit. You never can estimate when you would require a good suit for a wedding or for a business meet where formal attire is a must.

Sales - a Dirty Word
By: Patrick E Cavanaugh | 20/08/2008
Salesperson - a pushy, loud and arrogant hand shaking backslapper. Right?

How Much Does it Cost? Estimating
By: Patrick E Cavanaugh | 20/08/2008
Nobody wants to work for nothing, but many painter do when they don't charge for all the things that are part of each job. If you intend to do a complete job, and your customer is asking for a complete job, then you should be charging for a complete job. Leave something off of the estimate and you are working for nothing.

How to Estimate a Paint Job - or It's not Guess Work
By: Patrick E Cavanaugh | 20/08/2008
You can do all things correctly; but, if you mess up here, you can get hurt. It's not rocket science to estimate a paint job. It's actually fairly easy. I have seen everything in the way of paint job estimates, from something scribbled on a torn off sheet of scrap paper to ones like mine which are broken down into each room, and within each room, the individual elements.

Work for Free
By: Patrick E Cavanaugh | 20/08/2008
I always felt crappy after having a sales call and spilling my guts, telling a customer everything I knew about the job, spending hours talking about product knowledge, techniques and such.

People Search Tools: People Search by Phone
By: Apolie Turtz | 20/08/2008
Locating someone whom you haven’t had contact for years can be very hard. And sometimes without anyone to help you, you can’t probably do it alone and contacting other people could be too time-consuming and still you will not be sure with the results. Hiring a private investigator can be an effortless action but paying an expensive service when there is a cheaper method can be impractical. You have to allot a large amount only to hire an investigator when you can do it simply online. It can be

Job Costing
By: Patrick E Cavanaugh | 20/08/2008
Job costing is a technique for evaluating performance on individual jobs. It is also a way to maintain historical data, to use to estimate future work. The calculation of costs on a job by job basis helps to take our financial temperature. How is this crew doing? How are we doing on this type of work?

Work Less & Make More Money
By: Patrick E Cavanaugh | 20/08/2008
Is there anyone reading this that couldn't benefit from making more money? Generally speaking this profession is underpaid. When I look at what car mechanics, highway workers, and even municipal garbage works make, I know most painting contractors undercharge, or shall I say don't charge enough.

More from Jim Klein

How To Plan Your Presentation So You Close Sales
By: Jim Klein | 20/03/2008 | Sales
By the time you finish reading this article, you will have learned how to present your product or service properly.

How Do You Know If Your Prospect Is Ready To Purchase?
By: Jim Klein | 16/03/2008 | Sales
So, you believe your prospect has a problem you can help him/her solve with your product or service. It appears the prospect has the desire to solve the problem, and the finances to afford the solution. If you have completed all the steps in the sales process up to this point, your prospect should be on the edge of their seat, waiting to hear your solution.

Avoid These Two Big Sales Mistakes
By: Jim Klein | 06/03/2008 | Sales
Two important things you must determine during the qualifying are whether your prospect has the authority to make a buying decision today, and whether they have the finances available to make the purchase.

Discover the 2 Reasons Why People Buy Any Product or Service
By: Jim Klein | 01/03/2008 | Sales
When it comes to qualifying a prospect it's important to understand the reasons why people do things, and ultimately, why they will or will not buy your product or service. You see, people will buy your product or service to satisfy one of two main needs.

How Emotions Can Increase Your Sales
By: Jim Klein | 29/02/2008 | Sales
When you are qualifying a prospect or finding the problems as I call it, you want to probe deep inside to find the logical and emotional reasons why they want what you are offering.

Are You Making Critical Mistakes Qualifying Your Prospects?
By: Jim Klein | 09/02/2008 | Sales
You created interest with your prospect by making a big promise, and stated a feature to back up your promise. You gave them a logical and emotional benefit, and backed everything up with evidence. Finally, you asked their permission to ask questions.

To Persuade More (and Sell More) This Comes First
By: Jim Klein | 29/01/2008 | Sales
You're sitting in front of your prospect. You've spent time building a deep level of rapport, trust, and making them your best friend. They're smiling and very at ease with you. So what's next?

How To Quickly Establish Rapport With Your Prospects!
By: Jim Klein | 09/01/2008 | Sales
I'm sure you'll agree, establishing rapport and trust with your prospects is one of, if not the most important presentation skills you can learn. It's been said many times, people only buy from people they like and trust.

Article Categories






Give Feedback

Sign up for our email newsletter

Receive updates, enter your email below