08/09/07 - More on referrals

What stalls or stops referrals?
A lot of things can interfere with getting referrals. I have listed (below) the ones I can think of. If you come up with others, please share them with me (eric@succeedinginbusiness.com). In turn, I'll share them with the rest of the people on the list.

If you know of others who are not competitors, but who are equally committed to succeeding in business, please forward this article to them. For many, this is all they will ever need to reliably build professional and financial security for the rest of their lives.

You haven't repeated the words that describe the essence of what you do often enough. If you don't repeat it, people won't remember it. What you say about what you do should get attention, cut through the noise, and be relevant to the person you are speaking to.

The acid test is this: If people can't easily repeat the words you use to describe your business and the benefits you offer, you will not fully realize your referral potential, no matter how well you do everything else on this list.

You will know that you have made it when the 20 people closest to you can all accurately describe who your target market is and the problem you solve for that target market. Everything else on this list depends on getting this part right.

If you struggle with this, or simply want to enhance your abilities, consider taking the Marketing Fast Track program. It is a master's class on describing effectively what you do, so people will predictably respond. Enroll in the class, do the homework, build your message. If it doesn't give you the roadmap to creating a message that makes you money, we insist that you call or write for a no-questions-asked refund of your tuition. The results are absolutely guaranteed.


Your elevator speech, or audio logo, doesn't tie into one of the 16 basic desires* somehow:


Power is the desire to influence others.

Independence is the desire for self-reliance.

Curiosity is the desire for knowledge.

Acceptance is the desire for inclusion.

Order is the desire for organization.

Saving is the desire to collect things.

Honor is the desire to be loyal to one's parents and heritage.

Idealism is the desire for social justice.

Social contact is the desire for companionship.

Family is the desire to raise one's own children.

Status is the desire for social standing.

Vengeance is the desire to get even.

Romance is the desire for sex and beauty.

Eating is the desire to consume food.

Physical Activity is the desire for exercise of muscles.

Tranquility is the desire for emotional calm.




You don't deliver what you promised.


You don't do it when you promised.


You don't do it in the way you promised.


You exaggerate what you can do.


You don't believe it yourself.

I'll be talking about more problems that can interfere with getting referrals in the next issue. In the meantime, please tell everyone you know about www.succeedinginbusiness.com Our mission is to help those who are committed to succeeding in business. If you follow the advice in this newsletter you will increase your income. For some, reading this newsletter alone, has been worth over $100,000+ in income that they wouldn't have had otherwise. For others it has meant multiple promotions. For others it has meant far better personal relationships. If it works for you, please pass it on.

Enjoy your summer,

Eric

PS: What did I miss? Please send me a note at eric@succeedinginbusiness.com and let me know. I am certain I missed a boatload. If you share with me, I'll share with everyone else on the list.

PPS: The Marketing Fast Track program has been a spectacular success and is filling up. Hopefully, not without you!

Here are two examples of what others have said about it:

Nobody knows the frustrations of not getting your phone calls returned like all of us in the insurance industry. While I am not completely finished with Eric's Marketing Fast Track Program, I am already making the required adjustments in my messaging and am progressively getting more and more of my calls returned -- I gotta tell you, it is really sweet when they leave me a message and ask me to call them back as soon as I can.

-- Bob Healy, Vice President
Hilb Rogal & Hobbs, (HRH) Insurance.

I have long wanted to get out of the business of cold-calling, but had been skeptical that there was anything that would work. The Marketing Fast Track program really opened my eyes and got me happily out from under the dark cloud of cold-calling.

-- Jack Meligan, President, Settlement Professionals www.settlepro.com



*Taken in whole from Steven Reiss's book, Who Am I? The 16 Basic Desires that Motivate Our Actions and Define Our Personalities. Berkley Press 2002



Eric Albertson
Portland OR
August 9, 2007