Chapter 9: Looking Good: The Secret of Attraction

Question 1

The process is called atTRACT, because referrals are the best way to attract more clients. There are five steps:

• Tell
• Remind
• Audience
• Contacts
• Touch base.

TELL

I begin the conversation with my Referral Source by explaining that I build my business through referrals.

There are three reasons we need to Tell:

• Our clients don’t spend their days worrying about how to grow our businesses
• Good work is not enough
• We might appear to be too busy already

REMIND

• Before we can ask for referrals, we need to remind our contacts of the value or results that we deliver.
• You can open the process by asking a few leading questions:
  • How does your client feel about the service you have delivered? What has the client’s experience been working with you?
  • Why did your client choose you over your competition, and has their judgment been validated?
  • What results have been achieved—what savings in dollars have been realized, what improved processes are now in place, or what problems have gone away?

Benefits working with me

• Up front pricing
• Large inventory, large network of dealers
• Fast and convenient online process

AUDIENCE

This is the person you want to meet, or your audience. You will now describe your audience to your Referral Source.

CONTACTS

You will now ask your Referral Source for three things:

1. Who are one or two people you know who match the description of my audience?
2. What did I say that made you think of people to refer?
3. Contact them now:

This is the single most important step in the atTRACT process. You are asking for immediate action. You will now ask your Referral Source to contact your Ideal Customer and introduce you now—while she is still clear on the value and benefits you bring. Aha! This is where most people become skittish. Yet this step is the key to the success of the entire Referral-Selling System. If you do not ask for the introduction, the atTRACT process will not work. Although this book is money well spent, the time it took you to read it and to do the exercises will have been wasted. If you call someone who doesn’t know you and is not expecting your call, or if you call without an introduction, it is a cold call. Wow. Will you actually be able to ask for an introduction? Yes, and by learning to do it, you will revolutionize your life.

There are three, and only three, ways that are acceptable for your Referral Source to introduce you: by phone, by e-mail, or in person.

• Ask for the referral call immediately.
• Joanne’s Point of View - If you do not get an introduction, you’re making a cold call.
• If your sales cycle is lengthy, keep your Referral Source abreast of your progress with short notes or calls.
• Always tell this person whether you’ve won or lost the business, or if the decision has been delayed.

What’s stopping you?

• It feels really uncomfortable
  
  • Asking for the introduction is when most people feel uncomfortable. It doesn’t matter whether you are a woman or a man, young or old—the story is the same. You may feel as if you are jeopardizing a relationship—you have a friendship, and bringing in business might shift or even end the friendship
• I haven’t earned the right to ask
  
  • If it’s a current client and you’ve done good work, you have definitely earned the right. They know you, trust you, and will be eager to make a referral—if they’re asked.
  • “How can I help you?”
  • But what you will quickly discover is that people won’t say no if they’re asked the right way—a way that is respectful, clear, and helps them contribute value to others. It’s called atTRACT.
• I’m asking for help

Remember your list of one hundred? Start with the top three. You’re not asking these people for their business, you’re asking them for people they know. This is an important distinction and will shift the dynamics of your conversation.

Remember that it’s not about the number of leads you get, but the number of leads you get that are qualified.