Sales people have a nasty little habit of moving too quickly from prospect to prospect, appointment to appointment. Sales books and CD sets have told us this for decades. It’s a numbers game. Every no gets you closer to a yes! I get it, and of course there is truth to this. However, allow me to challenge your thinking by making this statement; a strike out with a prospect can still be a hit for your referral partners and then can become a home run for you!
Patty is a City administrator I called on last year and after 3 long months courting her as a client….I struck out. Most sales people would leave her far behind in their rear view mirror, but I did not. Sure, I invested 3 months and walked away without a sale, but I managed to develop something even more valuable. A relationship. In fact, over the next several months I went back to see Patty. Not alone of course, I brought my referral partners with me. One of which was a payroll provider who has since closed a deal with Patty. Next I introduced a referral partner who sells ink cartridges to city’s at 70% of the cost of the big box office supply chains. Am I now the guy who will help save the city thousands on toner cartridges? Yep, that’s me. The next time Patty is in need of my service, who do you think she’ll reach out to. You guessed it. Also, have I also scored points toward future referrals from my payroll and ink cartridge referral partners? You bet.
Traditional selling would tell you to leave Patty in the dust, but the best Networkers realize that if you treat enough “Patty’s” like a person in need & not a closed door, you can have dramatic success in the future. Now, your homework assignment, take a look at the last 10 prospects you did not close. Call your top 3 referral partners and tell them who they are. Then, set some appointments and take the show on the road. You’ll be glad you did, so will they.
Brennan Scanlon is a Speaker & Trainer in referral-marketing concepts. A good referral for him would be a speaking engagement at an organization made up of sales people who need more referrals. He can be reached at www.brennanscanlon.com.
