Successful Business Networking: Do You Need to Know How to “Sell?”

Successful Business Networking: Do You Need to Know How to “Sell”?string(70) "Successful Business Networking: Do You Need to Know How to “Sell”?"

June 23, 2022
, , , BNI, Business, Networking, opportunity, Referrals, Relationships, Sales

The answer is YES. Master networkers know that sales skills are absolutely required for successful referral marketing. Those skills are needed in every part of the process – not just in closing the sale with the prospect.

There have been numerous businesspeople I’ve met over the years who are fantastic networkers and they think that just because they know how to network, they don’t need to know how to sell. They assume that people will like them and then, because they like them, their products or services will sell themselves. This kind of mentality is unfortunate because people who think this way often leave business on the table.

There are three steps in the referral marketing sales process where selling skills are essential.

To Get the Referral

From the very beginning, you must sell yourself to your potential referral source.
Remember, a referral is not a guaranteed sale. A referral is an opportunity to talk with, and possibly do business with, someone to whom you’ve been recommended. You still have to close the deal. You have to make it clear that you know how to sell, and that you can and will provide the products or services that you are expected to provide. And that the customer will be happy with both the process and the result – which will reflect favorably on the person that provided the referral.

If you are unable to make that first “sale,” your potential referral source won’t become a referral partner. They won’t be inclined to risk their reputation and relationship with the prospect and won’t do their part to sell the referral.

To Get the Appointment

Beyond selling yourself to the referral source, you have to sell yourself to the prospect to get that first appointment. Yes, the referral helps a great deal, but you still have to convince the potential buyer that the appointment is worth their time and is likely to result in a favorable outcome for them.

I strongly recommend that networkers avoid being aggressive, indecisive, or evasive at this point. The prospect has been in contact with your referral provider and is expecting a high level of professionalism and respect from you in your approach. Be confident that a mutually beneficial deal is in the works and communicate this to the potential client with your attitude and actions. Strive not to embarrass your referral partner that connected you with this person.

To Get the Sale

Once you have made the appointment, you have to persuade the potential customer to buy your product or service. This is the part that usually comes to mind when you hear the word “sell.” Your integrity is paramount at this stage. They should know exactly what to expect from you – no hidden charges, no unexpected exceptions, and no bait-and-switch.

The number one thing to remember is to make your referral provider look good when you are talking with the person they referred to you. You need to demonstrate that you know how to sell to the prospect in a way that doesn’t reflect poorly back on them. They want to be confident that you will consult with the potential customer, discover their needs, offer solutions based on those needs, give them some options, and you won’t force a sale if you know you are unable to provide a good solution.

Note that in referral marketing, closing the deal with your prospect is neither the beginning nor the end of the selling process. To get to this point, you will have made at least two other sales, as noted above. To build and maintain the long-term relationships that characterize successful referral marketing, you have to follow up with both your new client and with your referral partner as part of the total sales process.

Sales skills are important in business networking. Some people are better at closing sales than others. Having the knowledge and skill to generate the referral, then having the knowledge and skill to close the sale, gives the businessperson a significant advantage.

The sales process is all about keeping an ongoing relationship with the client or customer, AND with your referral partner. This is something that the best referral marketers know and understand. “Sell” is a word that should be in every networker’s vocabulary.

How do you sharpen your sales skills and/or keep an ongoing relationship with your clients/customers?

buyer's

Understanding The Buyer’s Perspectivestring(39) "Understanding The Buyer’s Perspective"

March 4, 2021
, Behavioral Styles, Sales

Selling has everything to do with finding out the buyer’s needs, collecting compensation, and completing the transaction. However, there would not be salespeople if it was that simple. The buyer’s needs could easily be fulfilled by a vending machine.  In fact, many buyers shop online with only a vague sense of what might satisfy their needs.  Turning a buyer’s vagueness into clear solutions is the job of the salesperson.  The buyer is looking for the best solution, delivered in an effective and pleasurable manner. The search engine when shopping online cannot replace a well-trained salesperson.

Buyer’s thoughts are multifaceted

Buyers weigh the many pros and cons of a potential purchase when they shop.  Some of these thoughts the buyer might share with the seller.  Learning and adapting to the buyer’s various thoughts during the sales process is a complex and intricate task. It is the responsibility of the sales professional to ensure it happens.

The sales clock

Always look at both the buyer’s perspective as well as the seller’s demands with each sales scenario. Waiting out the sales clock after delivering your proposal can be stressful.  As the seller, you have to earn a commission, meet monthly targets, and ensure your proper work scheduling.  The last thing you want is for your own stress to create a negative impact on the buyer. Remember, it is all about the customer.

Three ways to tap into the buyer’s perspective

  1. Attentive Listening

Attentive listening can help you, the seller, determine if the buyer is putting you off or merely attending to pressing internal demands.

  1. Behavior Profiling

Modify your sales process to the style of communication most comfortable to the buyer.  All customers prefer to communicate in a manner that is most familiar to them. Knowing the buyer’s behavioral profile will help you to customize a sales approach for each customer.

  1. Product Presentation

Your sales presentation will have a strong influence on a successful sale. Talk about what the product will do for the customer rather than its features and keep the product presentation focused on the buyer’s needs.

Being able to read the buyer’s signals is crucial to meeting and exceeding the needs of your customers.  Masterful salespeople combine a little science with human relation strategies to create a wonderful buying experience for their buyers, while still maximizing their commission.  Most of the time, timing is everything.

Sales Force

Networking is About Training a Sales Force, Not Closing a Salestring(62) "Networking is About Training a Sales Force, Not Closing a Sale"

August 20, 2020
, Sales

Networking groups can definitely help businesses generate referrals.  However, I have talked to many people who say to me that despite the fact that they are giving business FOR other members of their networking group, they are not getting business FROM other members of their group. For those of you who want to get more business from the networking groups you belong to, keep this in mind: When attending referral-related networking groups remember that your efforts should be focused more on training a sales force than on trying to “close a sale”.

In other words, if you want to get business FROM the fellow members of your networking group, it is key that you EDUCATE these people about some of the specifics of your business and what to look for in order to refer you effectively. If you were training a sales force what would you say in this training process?  How would you describe your product or service to your salespeople that would enable them to fully understand the benefits of what you have to offer?  This is what you should be doing at a networking meeting.

The only way people can pass referrals to you is by getting to know about your business AND about you. No one expects a referral group’s member to be an actual salesperson for all the other members; but, if you want referrals, the other members do need to be trained.  Thus, the way your introductions are done can substantially impact your results in generating referrals FROM other networking group members. I have personally seen people participate in referral groups who were in businesses so unusual that I didn’t think it was possible for them to do well; however, what I didn’t take into account was their personal commitment, attitude, and ability to teach people “how” to refer them.

Three key points to consider for educating people in your networking groups to be your sales force:

1) Do not generalize when asking for referrals: I have heard hundreds of thousands of introductions at business networking events in my 35 years of running a business referral organization. When talking about the type of referrals they want, many people use the words “anyone,” “someone,” or “everyone.”  I don’t recommend it. Why?  Because it is too general. If you say you can help “anyone” who needs your service, it is so generic that it doesn’t stick in anybody’s brain. Remember, specific is terrific.

2) Bring support material with you when you are at your networking meetings: If you have something visual for members to view or take with them, you increase your chances of staying in their minds long after the day’s meeting. A flier about a product sale or a newsletter from your company is a good item to share.  You might also bring samples of a product that you carry in your store or place of business.

3) Break your business down into Lowest Common Denominators (LCD’s) when introducing yourself: We all thought we would be done with algebra when we graduated, didn’t we? Here is an example of how one discipline can be applied to another.  In networking, Lowest Common Denominators apply to business introductions when you focus each week on only one aspect of your business at your networking meetings.  In other words, you break your business down into very small pieces.  You may be tempted to use the laundry list approach:  listing all the areas of focus that your business covers.  I would submit to you that your fellow networkers will learn more about you a week to week if you explain a single aspect of your business at each meeting.

I once saw the owner of a florist shop stand to give his introduction, holding a single red rose, wrapped in cellophane with a very thin stem.  He described the type of rose it was and how long it would bloom.  He then told his members he had just purchased it at the grocery store on his way to the meeting that morning.  After that, he reached under the table and pulled out another long-stemmed red rose, fully three times larger, with a huge redbud and a much thicker, green stem.  He proceeded to describe this rose, emphasizing that it would stay fresh and actually fully bloom and open up, lasting twice as long.   He held both by the bottom tip of the stems and waved them back and forth showing how thin the grocery store stem was as it swayed from side to side with each movement of his hand and how sturdy his rose was which didn’t budge at all.  With that, he announced that there was only a 3 cents difference in price between the two roses… his rose cost less!

This is a classic example of how to use an LCD when educating people about your business while at networking events.  The floral shop owner did not use general examples, he brought something to show, and he described it (and only it) in detail. If you want to get referrals from your networking efforts – remember to train your sales force using the three techniques above and you will see a noticeable difference in your results. 

converting prospects into customers

Converting Prospects Into Customersstring(35) "Converting Prospects Into Customers"

April 20, 2020
, , , , Building Relationships, Credibility, Customer Service, EGBOK, Follow up, How Can I Help You?, Marketing/Sales, Networking, Online Networking, Sales 6

Your referral source has done her job and emailed you a referral. If she is a BNI member, she passed you the referral via BNI Connect. Now it’s time to contact the prospect. But be careful: The purpose of your first contact call is not to make a sale or even ask the prospect if he has questions about your business. If, and only if, the prospect asks, should you present your products or services during this first contact call. Remember, when converting prospects into customers, you must first build a relationship. It may take a while, but if you follow these recommendations, you’ll speed up the process of closing the deal.

Do your homework.

First, contact the referral source who passed you the referral. Ask the referral source for any relevant information. As we are currently practicing physical distancing globally and working from home, the first contact meeting cannot be a face-to-face meeting at this time. Instead, the preferred format for this first meeting is to do a video conference call. However, ask the referral source to contact the prospect on your behalf to determine if the prospect wants to be contacted by you via telephone or video conference call for the first call.

If the prospect prefers this first contact call to be a telephone call, do not delay. Make your first contact telephone call with the prospect within 72 hours.

If the prospect prefers this first contact call to be an online video conference call, send an email to the prospect requesting possible dates, times, and their preferred video call platform (Facetime, Zoom, MS Teams, Gotowebinar, etc..). Please confirm the time zone if the prospect if not living in your area.

If the referral source can be present, invite the referral source to attend this video conference call with you and the prospect. This way, the referral source can introduce you in person to the prospect at the start of the video call with a more thorough briefing about you, your business and your products or services.

First Contact Telephone Call / Online Video Conference Call

Before the first contact call, look up the website and the various social media pages for the prospect’s business for additional information. Review their website to understand their business better. Use these sources of information to get to know the prospect better and to prepare questions to ask about them on the first contact call.

Reminder: The purpose of your first contact call is not to make a sale or even ask the prospect if he has questions about your business. If, and only if, the prospect asks, should you present your products or services during this first contact call.

The purpose of the first contact call is to:

  • Begin to build the relationship;
  • Get to know the prospect better;
  • Help the prospect get to know you better;
  • Find out how you can help them;
  • Position yourself to make your next contact; and
  • Judge if the prospect fits your source’s description of her.

You’ve Got Mail

Within 24 hours after the first contact call, it is recommended to email the prospect with a summary of the call, fun facts about the prospect, any information requested by the prospect, a brief note of gratitude, the next steps, and your contact information.

When you start composing your email, start by naming your referral source–a name the prospect will recognize.

Writing this email gives you a better, more controlled opportunity to convey what you’ve learned about the prospect. It helps develop your relationship to let your prospect know you find him interesting enough to have taken the time to learn a few facts about him. Express an interest in meeting him again, and advise him you’ll be calling to schedule a mutually convenient appointment for the next online video conference call.

Do not attach and send your business literature with this email unless requested by the prospect. This will avoid giving the impression that you’re interested in him primarily as a prospective customer.

Make the Call

Give the prospect a week to process this email before you follow up with a telephone call. When you telephone the prospect, ask if he has any questions from the first contact call. Plus, offer to send more information via postal mail. If the prospect indicates that he would want this, send it right away. Finally, schedule a second video conference call while on this telephone call. Hopefully soon, we will once again be able to meet people face-to-face again.

Following Up When Converting Prospects Into Customers

When building relationships, it’s always important not to let much time lapse without following up on the first contact. Within two to three days of the follow-up telephone call, you should send your prospect a note via postal mail expressing your pleasure in communicating with him. It’s still too early, though, to automatically send business literature unless requested above or to make any move toward sales promotion.

So follow up early, but don’t push beyond the prospect’s comfort level. Once the prospect has expressed an interest in your products or services, you can provide information about them, but don’t force it on him. Continue presenting your products or services, but avoid the hard sell. Focus on fulfilling his needs and interests. Your goal should be to keep your prospect aware of your business without annoying him.

If you have prepared your referral sources well, your efforts may pay off on your very first call. Most often, the prospect from a referral will need more time. Many people were financially affected by the changes from the viral outbreak. Therefore, this may not be the ideal time for them to hire you for your services. They may express an interest in talking later about your products or services and hiring you when the situation improves. Be patient when converting prospects into customers.

Secrets to Getting Referrals

Secrets to Getting Referralsstring(28) "Secrets to Getting Referrals"

January 9, 2020
, , , , , , Entrepreneur, Referrals, Sales 2

Networking groups can definitely help businesses generate referrals.  When attending referral-related networking groups, remember that your efforts should not focus on trying to “close a sale. If you want to get business from the fellow members of your networking group, educate these people about some of the specifics of your business and what to look for in order to refer you effectively. Here are some secrets to getting referrals to consider for educating people in your networking groups:

Train your Sales Force

Do not generalize

I have heard hundreds of thousands of introductions at business networking events in my 20 years of running a business referral organization. Many people, when outlining what type of referrals they want, use the words “anyone,” “someone” or “everyone.” I don’t recommend it. It is also important to remember that if you are in a group that meets weekly, your presentation should focus on something different each time in order to continue the educational process.

Bring support materials

Have something visual for members to view or leave with. Your chances of staying in their minds long after the day’s meeting are increased. A flier about a product sale or a newsletter from your company are good items to bring. You might also bring samples of an item you carry in your store or place of business.

Break your business down into keywords

When introducing yourself, break your business down into keywords. Each week you focus on simply one aspect of your business. In other words, break your business down into very small pieces. What are the words others will use as search terms about your industry? These are your keywords. You may be tempted to use broad approach-listing all the areas your business covers. Instead, consider that your fellow networkers will learn more about you if you explain one aspect of your business weekly at each meeting.

If you want to get referrals from your networking efforts, remember to train your sales force and provide them the support material they will need to find others searching for you based on your keywords. Chances are, you’ll see a noticeable difference in your results.

Marc-William Attie

The Impact of Follow-Up in Sales and Networkingstring(47) "The Impact of Follow-Up in Sales and Networking"

February 7, 2017
Follow up, Guest Blog, Networking, Sales 2

International Networking Week: Follow-up tips from various international BNI leaders

Submitted by Marc-William Attié
Directeur National, France et Belgique francophone

In order to get most of the International Networking Week, be aware of the impact of Follow-Up in Sales. Following up is a must to be in the position to succeed. This is the case in Networking, in our personal life, with our children, in managing our health, in financial management, in Business, etc…. Follow-up is one of the most important behavior to reach a high level of efficiency.
 
Follow-up and Sales
Here is an interesting statistic which proves the importance of follow-up in sales from the National Sales Executive Association:
40% of Salespeople never follow up with a prospect
25% make a second contact and stop
12% male three contacts and stop
only 10% make more than three follow-ups
and now be aware that only 2% of sales are made on the first contact
3% on the second
5% on the third
10 % on the fourth
and 80% on the firth to the twelfth contact.
What salesman do you want to be? You can easily decide.
 
Follow-up and Networking
During this International Networking Week, you will be meeting some potential future customers. I don’t recommend that you try to hard sale to the people you are going to meet. But if you want to get most of these new contacts remember that in order to create a relationship which will ease the future sales process you need to follow-up. Here are some quick tips:
1) Take note on the business card you will receive to keep track on some specific info
2) Send a personalized thank you email immediately after the event
3) Connect with those people on LinkedIn and create files in your CRM or equivalent (write a note about how you met and about what you can do for them.
4) Ask for phone and in-person meeting appointment one week later (the persons you want to reconnect with)
5) During these phone calls and in-person meetings give, ensure you give them something they can benefit from (information, connection, advise, .. remember you took note during the event).
6) Ask for help, people like to be useful.
7) Plan to have follow-up emails every 3-6 months and a call or in-person meeting every year.
Remember that follow-up is one of the most important behavior to reach a high level of efficiency. 

International Networking Week 2017

Are you educating your network or just selling to them?string(55) "Are you educating your network or just selling to them?"

December 12, 2016
, , , Education, Networking, Networking Tactics, Sales, Strategy

Educating your networking group’s members about the type of referrals you want (and even the names of the individuals with whom you want to meet and develop relationships) is much more important to the success of your networking in a closed contact network than selling to the members. This demands a shift in how you see your networking partners and educating them about your business. They are not the clients! They are, in effect, your sales force! In order for any sales force to get out there and sell you effectively, they have to know who to sell you to and how to sell you.

Read More

Quantity Is Fine, But Quality Is Kingstring(37) "Quantity Is Fine, But Quality Is King"

July 6, 2015
, , , , , , , Building Relationships, Business, Competition, Connections, Conversation, Follow up, Marketing/Sales, Networking, Networking Prep, Networking Tactics, Referrals, Relationships, Sales, Strategy, Success 2
Photo Courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Photo Courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

One of the biggest misconceptions I’m aware of in regard to networking is the notion that it’s an “all you can eat” affair.  In other words, people go to an event, work the room in an effort to meet everyone there, and then judge their success by the number of cards they accumulate.  Although I see a certain superficial logic in that, there’s only one fatal flaw with this kind of thinking:  it assumes that the more people you meet at an event, the more successful your networking efforts are–and that’s simply not the case.  Instead, the quality of the connections you form is much more significant than the quantity of connections you make.

Businesspeople unfamiliar with referral networking sometimes lose track of the fact that networking is the means–not the end–of their business-building activities.  They attend three, four, even five events in a week in a desperate grasp for new business.  The predictable result is that they stay so busy meeting new people that they never have time to follow up and cultivate those relationships–and how can they expect to get that new business from someone they’ve only just met?  As one of these unfortunates remarked to me, “I feel like I’m always doing business but rarely getting anything done.”

I certainly agree that meeting new people is an integral part of networking, but it’s important to remember why we’re doing it in the first place: to develop a professional rapport with individuals that will deepen over time into a trusting relationship that will eventually lead to a mutually beneficial and continuous exchange of referrals.

When meeting someone for the first time, focus on the potential relationship you might form.  As hard as it may be to suppress your business reflexes, at this stage you cannot make it your goal to sell your services or promote your company.  You’re there to get to know a new person.  A friend of mine told me something his dad always said: “You don’t have to sell to friends.”  That’s especially good advice when interacting with new contacts.

This certainly doesn’t mean you’ll never get to sell anything to people you meet while networking; it does, however, mean that you’ll need to employ a different approach.  Networking isn’t about closing business or meeting hordes of new people; it’s about developing relationships in which future business can be closed.  Once you understand that, you’ll stand out from the crowd with everyone you meet.

When you’re networking like a pro and treating new contacts as future referral partners, you’ll absolutely blow away any competitors who still feel compelled to meet as many people as they possibly can.  Why?  Because when you call your contacts back, they’ll actually remember who you are and be willing to meet with you again.

James Barber–“The Networking Guru”string(52) "James Barber–“The Networking Guru”"

May 14, 2015
, , , , , , Author, Book, Business, Conversation, Educational Resources, Marketing/Sales, Networking, Networking Prep, Networking Tactics, Public Speaking, Referrals, Sales, Strategy, Success, Video Blog

Just last week at the BNI® U.S. National Conference in Savannah, Georgia, I had the opportunity to have a brief chat with James Barber, author of The Networking Guru.  In this video, I ask James to offer a suggestion or two on how networkers can stand out during weekly presentations in their networking group in order to increase their effectiveness at consistently obtaining referrals from their networking partners.

James reveals his top tip for helping your fellow networkers (i.e., your sales team) to focus and really narrow in on how they can refer you, and he tells a powerful story about a North Carolina business woman who used his top tactic and was so successful that he still finds it amazing when he thinks about the results she got.

Watch the video now to learn how you can stand out and be remembered in order to make it easier for those with whom you network to refer you.  I guarantee that if you incorporate James’ advice into your networking presentations and interactions, you will start to see a significant improvment in your referral marketing results and a noticeable increase in the amount of referrals you’re able to generate.

After watching the video, please share your thoughts.  And, if you’ve had previous experience using the tactic we discuss for generating more referrals, I’d love to hear how it worked out for you–please share your story in the comment forum below.  Thanks!

 

Is Networking Worth It If You Work for Someone Else?string(52) "Is Networking Worth It If You Work for Someone Else?"

May 11, 2015
, , , , , , BNI, Marketing/Sales, Networking, Networking Prep, Networking Tactics, Referrals, Sales
Photo courtesy of patpitchaya at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Photo courtesy of patpitchaya at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Whether you’re self employed or you work for someone else, it is definitely worth your time to start looking for networking groups that can refer you new business.  If you work for someone, take steps to persuade your employer that you will get business by working with these groups.  I’d like to share with you a true story which demonstrates how this can greatly benefit you.

I met a bank manager several years ago who worked hard at persuading his supervisor that participation in a BNI® chapter would yield substantial results for his branch.  The supervisor reluctantly agreed to let him join on a trial basis.  The manager began getting referrals soon after joining.  After several months, another member gave him a particularly good referral–a man who was disgruntled with the level of service at his current bank.  The manager decided to visit the man at his company.  The man told the bank manager that he felt he was not getting personal service from his bank.  The manager assured him that his bank prided itself on service.  He gave the man his personal mobile and home phone numbers and told him that if there were a problem he could be reached any time of day, at home or at work.  The man thanked him for coming to his office and told him he would get back to him.  

Two days later, at 9:00 a.m., the man was standing at the bank door with several savings and checkbooks in hand.  The manager met him at the door and thanked him for coming to the branch.  The man said he was impressed with the way he was handled by the manager and that he had decided to transfer his accounts to the manager’s bank.  To the astonishment of the bank manager, the new customer handed over checking, savings, and money-market accounts totaling over $950,000!  After everything was completed, the man told the manager how glad he was to be referred to him by their mutual friend.

I first heard this story when my office (BNI Headquarters) started getting phone calls from every branch manager in Southern California who worked for that bank.  Each of them wanted information about local chapters of BNI.  When the bank manager who got the $950,000 referral told his supervisor where he got the referral, the supervisor (Remember him?  The reluctant one?) called all his other branch managers and told them to join a local chapter of their own within the next two weeks.

If you work for someone else, the lesson here is to persuade your supervisor.  Not long ago, I spoke to an individual who wanted to join a networking group but was told by his boss that the company wouldn’t pay for it.  This savvy salesman asked his boss, “If I front the money myself and get two referrals that turn into sales within the next thirty days, would the company pay for it then?”  The boss said, “Sure, if you come in with two sales, I’ll see to it that the company pays for the membership.”  Well, guess what?  This salesman, thus highly motivated, closed three sales and was working on four others at the end of the first thirty days.  He told me that his boss “gladly payed for the original membership, and recently paid to renew it.”  Whether you are self-employed or work for someone else, start looking for groups that refer you new business.

Do you have any stories about lucrative referrals you’ve received through joining a networking group?  If so, I’d love to them–please share in the comment forum below.  Thanks!

Can You Pinpoint the Benefits of Your Product or Service?string(57) "Can You Pinpoint the Benefits of Your Product or Service?"

December 8, 2014
, , , , , , , Business, Conversation, Marketing/Sales, Networking, Networking Prep, Networking Tactics, Referrals, Sales, Strategy, Success, Word of Mouth 4

Sales training often teaches us that customers make buying decisions based on (1) their emotions (“Sell the sizzle, not the steak!”) and (2) the value the product or service brings to them.  Marketing specialists capitalize on customers’ emotion-based buying habits.  Customers choose a product or service based on its benefits, not its features.  The features are simply the bare-bones facts–the elements or significant parts–of the product or service.  The benefits are its value to the customer–how it will solve their problems, eliminate their pain, and make life glorious.

Image courtesy of adamr at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of adamr at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

To understand the difference between features and benefits, let’s think about a car:

Features of a car

  • V-6 engine, dual exhaust, front-wheel drive, sunroof, significant interior legroom, heated seats, heated glass

Benefits of those features

  • V-6 engine–ability to pull onto the highway without hesitation (and to impress your friends)
  • Dual exhausts–higher fuel efficiency and more power (and it sounds groovy and also impresses your friends)
  • Front-wheel drive–more interior room because of the lack of a driveshaft tunnel
  • Sunroof–the open feel of a convertible with the safety and security of a sedan
  • Legroom–greater comfort while driving long distances and more room for your growing family
  • Heated seats–cozy motoring on frigid days and nights; greater back comfort on long-distance trips
  • Heated glass–the convenience of not having to scrape icy windows in the winter

The more perceived value a benefit offers, the higher it gets ranked in your decision to purchase.  Objectively, a sunroof is not a significant feature, but if it makes you feel a bit like a race car driver, perhaps that benefit raises its value for you.  Heated seats are nice too, but they might not rank high in value for to people who live in a warm climate and wouldn’t strongly influence their buying decision.  The benefits of dual exhausts, however, might have perceived value for all buyers–better fuel efficiency, more power, and a sound like your beloved but departed ’57 Chevy.

What does all this have to do with your referral marketing message?  Simply this:  Most businesspeople, without thinking about it, talk in terms of features.  As professional experts and salespeople, that’s what they’re most familiar with.  They’re not accustomed to looking at their products or services from a customer’s perspective.

In formulating the message you want your networking partners to convey, your challenge is to put yourself in the customer’s place.  What are the benefits of your product or service?  How will it make the customer’s life or business easier, more comfortable, more satisfying, more profitable?  How can you shorten and simplify your message so that others can communicate these benefits more clearly and surely?

Now that you have a good understanding of the difference between features and benefits, I hope you’ll come back next week to read the follow-up blog post I’ll be doing which will teach show you exactly how to zero in on the benefits of your business.  Until then, if you have any questions about features vs. benefits or any thoughts you’d like to share regarding this post, please leave a comment in the comment forum below.  Thanks!

It Never Hurts to Ask . . . Right?string(34) "It Never Hurts to Ask . . . Right?"

November 20, 2014
, , , , , , Advertising, Building Relationships, Business, Connections, Conversation, Credibility, Faux Pas, Marketing/Sales, Networking, Networking Prep, Networking Tactics, Online Networking, personal story, Rant!, Referrals, Relationships, Sales, Social Capital, Social Media, Strategy, Success, Video Blog 13

How many times have we heard people say that it never hurts to ask? Surely more times than we can count. 

Well, in this video, I explain why it definitely hurts to ask sometimes–especially if you ask to soon!  I share a personal story of a recent time when a stranger contacted me via LinkedIn wanting to connect and accompanied the connection request with a note asking me something which I found inappropriate to the point that I decided right then that I was never even going to consider connecting with her.

Watch the video to hear the story and to find out why I flagged the woman’s LinkedIn request as problematic on three significant levels.  Let me just say that this is ‘Networking 101’ and if I were her teacher, she would have gotten a failing grade–this is not the way to network!  Whether you frequently participate in face-to-face networking, online networking, or both, you’ll definitely want to hear this story so you never make the three mistakes that this woman did.

I’d really love to hear your feedback on this.  What are your thoughts?  Also, please share any similar horror stories you may have in the comment forum below–I’m looking forward to hearing from you.  Thanks!

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