The Referral Wordtrack That Performs

We need to understand something about the referral word track before we get started. This is the most profound statement in this article and it's the basis for what follows. 
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“The easiest, most effective, most efficient, least expensive way to build your business is to build your business on the trustworthiness of your existing clients that have grown to love you and the value that you have provided in past honest fair dealings. “

I said the value you provide; I didn’t say products or services you provide...

 I said the value that you provide. That they appreciate and that they respond to that real authentic value. So this word track is largely used to gain new referrals from people that already love you. That are already your raving fans.

I’ve been obsessed many years with the concept of internal marketing versus external marketing. I believe far too much money is spent on billboards and bus shelters and bus benches and church bulletins and newspapers. Are we kidding? Newspapers? There‘s a whole demographic of people aged 17-30 years old that have hardly ever read a newspaper. But yet some people, some business leaders are just stuck on these conventional advertising methods that eat up your money and cannot give you a quantifiable, trackable return on your investment. It’s very difficult to track what you get as far as that return on your investment. When all that you have to do is listen and memorize exactly what I am going to cover in today’s topic.

Now there are those of you that are out there that actually believe that nothing should ever be memorized as far as a sales script or word track. Nothing is further from the truth. No professional football player walks on the field expecting victory having not practiced intently with focus the entire week. So you need to practice. Those people on Broadway that do those great shows, surely you know that they had to practice their lines, their routines, their timing. Remember that great Indiana Hoosiers basketball coach Robert Montgomery Knight, his famous statement, 

“Everybody wants to be national champions, and nobody wants to come to practice.”

What makes you professional is when you take those lines that you know and incorporate them into your speech and you become enthusiastic. More importantly you become authentic and you have those lines flow out your mouth in a sincere conversational manner so that you can focus more intently on the customer and his response. Word of mouth internal marketing starts when you talk to your already existing client.

Mr. Prospect, can I ask you a question? Nobody has told me no when I ask. Here’s the word track. 

“Mr. Prospect, we need to grow our business, and the way we want to grow is with customers like yourself. So I wanted to ask you if you were currently satisfied with our service.” Well of course they are satisfied, they are excited, happy, perhaps they are even your friend. “Well, Mr, Prospect, we’d like you to help us meet your friends, neighbors, coworkers, relatives.  Let’s start with your friends. The type of friend we are talking about is the friend that knows your voice when you call. They already know your voice. You’ve spent that much time together. Which of your friends would appreciate our service?” At that point, I often times close my eyes and tell them, “Could you please write that down?” The friend that they thought about, the name, the number. I respond by saying “Very good. Who else? What other friend might you want to help us with, that might appreciate our service?”…Notice the pause…please pause. Let them think and say “Write that down.”

“How about your neighbor Mr. prospect? The type of neighbor that is there for you in a pinch if there is an emergency and you have to leave the house late at night? No problem. The trust is there with that neighbor. They will watch over the house or take care of an errand for you. Write that neighbors name down please, and their number…Very Good.”…

Did you notice the pauses? I’m pausing for a reason. To allow the prospect to think. To allow your client who is trying to give you referrals, the right referrals, to think. Would you please let them think? They are going through their mental computer and they are visually imagining who would fit with working with you. This is unbelievable stuff. This is a huge timesaver. So now we’ve finished with friends and neighbors. Let’s move back to the word track.

“Mr. Prospect, let’s talk about your co-workers. No not in a negative or gossipy way. Those co-workers that rely on you, and you rely on them. You have a relationship with them and they would appreciate our service as well. Which co-workers come to mind? …Write their name down please…and their number…thank you. 

And Mr. Prospect, last but certainly not least, your relatives. Which relatives would really appreciate our kind of service and would like to work with us, you know the fun people that we are. Which relatives come to mind?...write that down…thank you. Mr. Prospect I want to thank you fro going through this exercise with us and want you to always know, we sincerely appreciate your business. We know you have other choices. You should know we are committed to do everything we need to do to continue to earn your trust.”

Now usually when we are flowing through this conversation we take time, we take time to pause, we take time to listen, we may have to take time to listen to a story they want to share. We may have to take time to gather additional information that he or she is wanting to give us to be better prepared when we call the referral. That will always be better than an Internet lead or a lead that came from social marketing venues. Certainly those avenues are very important. For those that know me, know that I am very involved in Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, all of the various venues. But the referral from a trusted customer is supreme.

That is the marvelous referral word track that performs. I learned a good portion of that word track and at least the concepts and psychology behind that probably around 1982. It’s a word track that you can use in any industry. You can decide right now to build a business hard, or build a business smart. Learning a quality referral word track is smart business. As I said, I do use conventional advertisement and it does have its place, but never once have I had a billboard buy and implement a plan with me. Make no mistake, they do have their place. 

But the most important place is when your face is in front of the face of one of your existing clients that then gives you referrals to friends, neighbors, co-workers and relatives that they know and trust. That’s the most important aspect of our jobs. If we don’t have anybody to sit in front of, we are actually unemployed. Period.

And I want to leave you with this thought. Marvelous performance is always intentional. Marvelous performance is almost never accidental. I strongly encourage you to practice. It doesn’t matter if right now you don’t have it all down pat with the word track. What matters is that you take the CD and you practice, practice, practice. Have a marvelous day.

You'll find many more business insights and strategies in my Amazon #1 Bestselling Book, Come Hell or High Water, along with practical, repeatable methods for making changes to power your sales performance. You'll laugh, you'll think, and you'll ACT differently after reading - and implementing - these valuable ideas to help you in both business and in life!

Peace, love & gumbo!
Marvin LeBlanc, LUTCF, CNP

Author
Come Hell or High Water – Life Lessons from Hurricane Katrina, Facing Life’s Greatest Challenges No Matter What
From Free Speech to Paid Speaker – An Exclusive Interview with Marvin LeBlanc, LUTCF, CNP
13 Rules for Solid Business Growth -- Work Less, Sell Smarter – The Cajun Way
 
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