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Referral Etiquette Part II

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There are three groups where one can find and groom good referral sources:  clients,  colleagues and friends/family.  Good referrals begin with good relationships.  In addition to providing excellent services that fulfill client expectations, developing and maintaining solid professional and social relationships is paramount. The ability to clearly and succinctly describe the services you provide,  your typical clients and the problems that your services solve is also important.  Finally, be willing to make the first move in the referral game.  If you initiate referrals,  you are likely to receive them in return.

Know what you want
Before going off in search of referrals, think about what you’d like to achieve when meeting prospects.  You’ll want more than some fuzzy idea of how you like to meet people in a particular industry.  Clarify which job title is likely to be the hiring decision maker for your service and the usual goals or business challenges that drive the need for your category of service.

Then you can be clear and precise in your referral requests and will be able to craft the right introductory pitch.  Moreover, clarity will help associates to think of you as they themselves network.  You and your friends and colleagues  can then function as a referral network  for one another

Know who to ask
If you’ve worked for a client on two or three projects and have developed a comfortable relationship with your contacts, let them know that you are always looking for new business and can they recommend someone with whom you can follow up? You may not receive an immediate answer, but the seed will be planted.  Also, there will be no pressure on the client to give a name if they prefer not to do so.

If a referral is made, be sure to get approval for using that person’s name and confirm that if asked, that person feels they know you and your work well enough to provide a good recommendation.  Make it easy and comfortable to refer your services. This approach also works for obtaining referrals through social relationships.

Follow up within one month
While your name is still fresh within the mind of the referral source,  make the call or send the email and get the ball rolling.   Do not let the trail go cold and squander the opportunity.

Failure to appropriately follow up on a referral is deadly.  It happened to me a couple of times and I shall not forget it and I certainly will never refer either of them again.  In fact, I severed ties with both parties.

In one case,  I referred a young lady who launched a bookkeeping business when she was my student at the Center for Women & Enterprise business plan writing course.  A restaurant owner friend of mine  was desperate for that service and I was happy to make the connection.  For reasons that will forever baffle me, the bookkeeping entrepreneur was always too busy to follow up, despite confirming that she looked forward to meeting a prospective client. The young lady was unmoved by urgent emails sent to her by both the restaurant proprietor and myself. The restaurant owner forgave me, thank heaven, and we remain on good terms.

In the other case, a woman with a 20 year career and an MBA called a potential prospect too hastily, before I could confirm the other party’s interest in her services.  I suggested that MBA lady check out the website of someone whom I had literally just met and let me know if she saw some alignment.

If things looked promising, my plan was to invite the prospect to likewise peruse the website of MBA lady.  If all agreed,  I would make the connection. Unfortunately, MBA lady took it upon herself to contact the prospect, whom I had met a mere three hours before,  claiming that I had made the referral! I was furious. The prospect did not love it and has been cordial but cool to me ever since.

Thank your referral source
Remember to thank your referral source ASAP. Even if business is not done,  it is wise to let your source know that you appreciate their confidence in you and respect their generosity. Whatever happens,  let your referral know the outcome.  Referrals are vital to the survival of your business. They are a special favor and should not be taken lightly. This simple courtesy will encourage more good referrals for you.

Thanks for reading,
Kim

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Referral Etiquette Part I

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I love to connect people.  If I can bring people together and set them on the road to doing some business, then I am a happy girl.  Just last week I was able to connect Dave and Denise.

Denise was my former student in the business plan writing course that I teach at the Center for Women & Enterprise cweonline.org.  Denise is a smart cookie:  a  no-nonsense, ex-Lotus,  seasoned professional who was savvy enough to see a need within the small business milieu for the competencies she had honed in the corporate sector and disciplined enough to successfully transfer those competencies into her own business venture.

At CWE,  Denise wrote the plan that launched her tele-sales call center business.  Denise sets up permanent or temporary call centers for organizations that require an inside sales force.  She works with business owners or department managers to discuss the product/service that will be sold,  works with that person to articulate key selling points and benefits,  advises the owner/manager on how to run the call center, trains the tele-sales staff and is available for follow-up advice.  She has a good business.

Dave is a colleague in a Cambridge Chamber of Commerce sponsored networking group cambridgechamber.org.  Dave works with businesses that are looking to upgrade their telecommunications systems,  or better integrate those systems with other IT functions. He is often brought into a workplace that is relocating or making space changes within its current location.

Dave’s challenge  is lead generation.  Experience has shown him that personal outreach, rather than direct mail or email campaigns,  is the best way to find prospects.  He had wondered if  it would be more efficient to hire one or two part time sales people to make calls and pre-qualify prospects for his follow-up.  After pondering the notion for a few months,  he announced his intention to pursue that strategy at our monthly networking meeting.  I immediately suggested that he speak with Denise and sent him her contact information, urging him to use my name.

Dave contacted Denise a few days later. They met for coffee and discovered that they know a few people in common.  They also confirmed that Dave’s inside sales force plan is likely to reap the desired benefits.  Both parties emailed to thank me for the referral and let me know that they will work together on the lead generation tele-sales project.

So  my referral was successful.  You can do that, too.  Next week,  I’ll give a few useful tips that will help you create winning referrals,  whether you give or receive (the idea is to do both!).  Until then, remember that  people do business with people they know and like.  They do  more business with people they trust and respect.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Going up! Expert Elevator Pitch

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I don’t want to brag, but…oh, yes I do and so do you! We just need to figure out how to tell people how amazing we are, how talented and lovable, without being obnoxious.  Bragging is a turn off and nice boys and girls don’t.

But how do you let colleagues and prospects know what you’re good at? How do you network if you don’t know how to put your story across?

Every Freelancer needs a first rate elevator pitch.  A Freelancer must be able to position him/herself as an expert, a capable problem solver who can get the job done and is therefore worthy of important assignments.

A basic elevator pitch can be broken down into three  parts:

1). What you do

2). For whom you do it

3). Outcomes and benefits derived

What You Do

Concisely describe your service in straightforward and uncomplicated terms.  Challenging economic times can bring the temptation to be all things to all people–let’s face it, if there’s a legal way to get paid we’ve gotta bring it on.  Still  clients,  prospects and referral sources want to know what you are known for.  Help them out and develop a niche.

For Whom You Do It

Who are your typical clients? What are they looking for when they call you? What kind of pain are they in? Prospects and referral sources need to know who you typically do business with. They need to know who might need you.

Outcomes and Benefits Derived

What’s in it for the client who hires you? Describe the problems you solve, the money you help clients make or save, how you make them look good.  Mention an advantage  or two that distinguishes  you from competitors.  Stay on top of what is going on in your client’s industry so you’ll know how to position your services in relation to the hot issues.

Practice your elevator pitch until you’re comfortable with your phrasing.  Make sure it sounds natural for you and that it will spark the interest of your target customers.  A basic elevator pitch should take you less than a minute to present. Your pitch can serve as a  self introduction and will also allow you to transition into a more meaningful discussion of  your services should an interested party want more info.

Use your bragging skills, artfully packaged in a good elevator pitch, to establish your reputation as a results-oriented professional and an available source of useful information in your area of expertise.

OK,  so now that you know how to create and deliver an expert elevator pitch,  it’s time to do some savvy networking!

More later,
Kim

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On Surviving the Economic Crisis Part II

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Last week, I attended a roundtable discussion for business owners that was hosted by the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce.  The purpose of BIG: Best Insights Grow (Your Business) was to provide a forum wherein a dozen small business owners and consultants  could share some of our more vexing business challenges and receive some practical advice from the group about how best to resolve those issues.

I offer you a few strategies and action items that surfaced in our forum. You may want to integrate some of this into your practice, so you can grease the cash flow wheels as we enter the traditionally slow summer months.  Most of these things you already know–none of it is rocket science.  Nevertheless, selectively employing a few of these methods is bound to have a positive effect on your billable hours, in the short and long term.

  • Stealth Prospecting

Obviously, we must always keep eyes and ears open for new clients and new ways to engage our current clients.  One way to do that is to network: get out there and attend events, talk to people and let them tell you which products and services they like, why they like them and how they like them offered.  Also, remember to make sure friends and colleagues know what you do and who they can refer to you, so they can be your surrogate sales force.

Another way to set the stage for networking and prospecting is to put yourself on the panel guest and speaker’s circuit.  Meaning, position yourself as an expert.  Pay attention to the program schedules of a few business and professional organizations.  What kind of topics do they offer? What kind of audience do they attract? Can you offer up some of your expertise and give a presentation or join a panel discussion? Are you a member of any such organization?

Build relationships with the event coordinators for these groups and find out the protocol and requirements for their speaker’s bureau.  Have a clear understanding of topics that are deemed appropriate, so you can offer the right talk titles.  Local colleges may also accept proposals for workshops.  Check out noncredit continuing education offerings in a few schools and see who might give you an opportunity to teach. You might even receive a (modest) honorarium!

When you are showcased as an expert in your field, you will be approached by peers and prospects who seek your advice, want to do business with you or want to refer you to someone who does want to work with you.  Now that takes the cold calling out of prospecting, am I right?

  • Strategic Referrals

What better way to get yourself into the good graces of someone who you suspect could be a good referral source for your gorgeous self than to get the process started by referring a client to your object of desire? The chances of receiving some reciprocal billable hours are going to be good, I’ll say.  I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship…

  • Smart Pricing

Pricing is a tricky thing. It is both a science and an art. When it comes to services, honestly, who knows what anything is worth? The service is worth what the client thinks it’s worth.  Even in flush times, you’ve gotta know when to hold and know when to fold. You must become a very good negotiator.  No one wants to gouge and no one wants to be undervalued.  These days times are tough, clients know it and everybody wants a “deal”.

Freelancer, you need a good pricing strategy if you want to keep a roof over your head and food on the table!  You need a useful bag of tricks that will keep the billable hours coming in at rates that will keep you solvent.  Here are a few strategies that can help:

When you know or suspect that a client is going to knock down your price, try adding 10-20% to your proposed fee.  Some people love to bargain, love to think they got something at a lower price.  So give that client the satisfaction of “saving” a few dollars. When they press you for a price cut, slowly and reluctantly cave in– then smile like Mona Lisa as you collect your usual fee (or close to it).

Another win-win pricing strategy is to hold your price but add in a few extras or upgrades. Maybe you can even do some small something pro bono.  Many clients will be happy to receive more for their money.  They want to stoke that value proposition.

But alas, sometimes the clients have us over a barrel and we are forced to take a job at a lower fee because we either flat out need the cash or we crave a certain plum assignment. How to take the sting out of this one?

Start by trying to get more hours out of the project. Your hourly fee won’t be great, but the check at the end will be less paltry. You can also ask for future assignments, thus getting them on the hook for more work that you can count on.  Better still, giving a referral discount to this client may be the way to go: each successful referral the client makes means their next job will be priced at a 10- 20% discount.  Pricing is most definitely about negotiation.

This is also the time to offer your clients some flexible payment options.  Consider offering a discount on invoices that are paid in full within 15 days.  Invoicing like a general contractor might also be helpful: ask for a third of the project fee up front, the next third at the project midpoint and the final third within 30 days of the project’s completion. Setting yourself up to accept credit card payments may also prove to be useful.  The downside is the processing fee, but you will make it easier for cash strapped businesses to pay you on time.  As we all know, getting paid is the name of the game.

Good luck this summer and let me know how you make out!