At almost an epidemic level, sales professionals across all industries are reluctant to call current and past clients as well as sphere of influence and ask for a referral. The excuse or reason is usually one of the following:
- They don’t like it when someone asks them for a referral, so they won’t ask their client.
- They don’t want to bother their client.
- They don’t want to come across as desperate to their client.
- They are afraid their client may not be comfortable referring someone to them.
If I just described you, it is imperative you have breakthrough now to stop the Law of Diminishing Returns from further eroding your business, pipeline and overall income. I’ll explain more in a moment.
The root of the reluctance is fear and it is paralyzing your ability to tap your goldmine. The absolute best source for growing your business is with your past clients and sphere of influence gaining repeat and referral business. Even if you are not proactively asking for the business you may still be receiving referrals and may be lulled into complacency thinking all is well. This is where you most likely are losing more business than is coming in due to the 20-30-50 Rule which says:
- 20% of your clients/sphere will repeat and/or refer no matter what. With no further contact, they will continue to do business provided you serve them well during the transaction.
- 30% will never repeat and refer no matter what. You will never get additional business from this group no matter how strong your follow up and value add is after the sale.
- 50% will repeat/refer if you create front of mind awareness. At least half of your database needs you to remind them to refer their friends and family to you. If you are not getting in front of them at least two times per year asking for referrals you will see more of your database eroding away to your competitors than you are receiving back. This is the Law of Diminishing Return. Either you will serve your client’s friends and family, or your competitors will!
If you would like to breakthrough and get more business from your goldmine, complete our Call Reluctance Survey and Contact Us today and schedule a Complimentary Session with one of Our Coaches. You’ll be glad you did!
