6 Ways to Ask for a Referral from a Potential Client

New customer acquisition remains a big problem of the sales puzzle that all salespeople are hard at work prospecting for. You have an opportunity to do this by asking for customer referrals. Multiple studies have shown that customers acquired through referral require less investment and have a higher potential for retention and loyalty.

Here are the big questions how do you go about breaking the ice with your customers to ask them for help? Is there a way to network to them to help you without being awkward? In this blog post you'll learn how to identify potential referral opportunities by asking for customer feedback and how to ask for those referrals once you've identified good candidates.

How to Use Customer Feedback as a Way for You to Identify Referral Opportunities

Knowing which clients are happiest with you will increase your likelihood of winning a referral. Here are some tips for going about it:

1. Identify your advocates.

One of the best ways to identify potential customer advocates that's commonly practised by the marketplace is to use the Net Promoter Score survey to help make the process a little easier.

2. Follow up with your promoters.

Sending a survey isn't enough. You need to follow up with potential advocates and keep the positive momentum rolling along. Best way to engage with your promoters are to get in touch with them personally and to understand what they are currently going through.

3. Use feedback and testimonials for referrals

Customers are more likely to trust your brand early on if they have social proof of your expertise and your testimonials. Case studies are one of your most powerful assets. A great way to gain feedback is by just asking.

4. Build Value first, then ask

There is nothing wrong with asking for customer referrals immediately after closing the deal, however we wouldn't recommend it. Rather we recommend to wait until after you've successfully completed your service and delivered unparalleled value to your customers.

5. Don't treat referrals like cold calls

Referrals are not cold leads. We recommend entering into a conversation with a referral with a much friendlier tone. Play up the relationship with you have with the referrer and act like you're already in your inner circle.

6. Offer incentives for referrals.

Performing great customer service, but sometimes it's still not enough to convince them to do referrals. It's time to incentivize your customers. 

Conclusion

Often small businesses overlook the option of focusing their sales efforts into referrals. This is a viable option and can be a source of sales that draws the highest retention rates and at lower costs.

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Top 5 Power Sales Words That Sell

Words are your primary 'weapons' to convert your qualified prospects into customers. Words are incredibly important to salespeople. How salespeople deliver their messages and converse with their prospects can have a very dramatic effect on the outcome of the entire negotiation. Using the wrong phrase might cast a negative shadow on the proposal, while tweaking just a few words in the pitch might induce a client to buy immediately. The underlying message is extremely critical but the words used to deliver it bear similar weight. 

Here's 5 power words you can use in your sales conversations and negotiations to help you close that sale.

1. You

Selling should always be about your prospects - not about you. A simple way to make that clear is by using the word "you" as much as possible. Apply this rule everytime you are in contact with your prospect and refrain from being tempted to phrase a sentence from the perspective of your company and find a way to rework it to make your prospect the subject.

2. Value

"Customers rarely understand the features and benefits of anything you're convincing them on". They only care about the value and achieving their objectives. Skip all the features that your product has. Focus instead on the value you will create for your prospect's business.

3. And

This is a clever replacement for "but" when dealing with criticisms or objections. The but signals to the prospect that you are about to utter a statement that runs counter to what they would like to hear. And by its very nature is inclusive. 

"I see that you only have a budget of RM50,000.00 and let me tell you why our system why our system costs RM60,000.00'. 

Compared with 

"I see that you only have a budget of RM50,000.00 but let me tell you why our system costs RM60,000.00".

If you notice the use of but gives the impression that you have just bypassed the problem and make the buyer feel ignored. Wouldn't you agree that just one word can change the outcome or perception towards your sales presentation?

4. Do

Many sales experts recommend using the word "do" instead of "try". For example,

I'd like to try a way to solve your problems

Compared with

What I'll do is to research about your problem

Wouldn't you agree that the later gives your prospect a sense that you are competent and trustworthy - boosting your prospect's confidence in your ability to offer a solution to the problems that they are facing?

5. Or

Compared to presenting one proposal to a client and try giving them the option of only accepting or rejecting it. It's daunting isn't it as your odds of success are 50:50. Instead try presenting them with two or three different variations on your proposal, and suddenly you've doubled or tripled your odds of receiving a "yes". 

Therefore in negotiations don't just ask if they want to sign the contract.

Ask if which version of the available options is preferable. Try asking our of Version A, B or C which contract would you prefer to go with?

Conclusion

Power words are surprisingly powerful even though faint. It represents you and how you present your sales proposition differently. Pay attention to how you are presenting your message and your sales would go a long way. This isn't exhaustive as there are many other phrases and power words to be careful of. Having a grasp on these words and how to use them in your sales efforts can really pay off. Language is crucial in sales so it serves you to bolster your vocabulary with words that will elicit the right emotions from your prospects.

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How to Overcome Anchoring in a Negotiation to Win More Sales

If you find yourself working with a prospect who is exhibiting anchoring bias, consider the following tactics as you navigate your negotiation.

1. Do your research

Take time to adequately prepare before you enter any negotiation situations. Research the background of the prospect to make sure you understand what they are actually looking for and run the financials on your end so you know exactly what you can and cannot accept as a final offer. 

For example, knowing your prospect's set budget which they want to stick to allows you to prepare the best possible solution your company can provide which would suit the goals of your prospect and meet your financial objectives.

Take time to research what your competitors are offering for the same solution, because in some scenarios prospects may want to price-match or reference what another competitor is offering. If you take the time to prepare a response to this ahead of time you are less likely to be caught off-guard.

2. Propose a counter-anchor

The goal is to swiftly disqualify an anchor before countering with an ideal price. Don't reply with a figure because you would be haggling for a price, but the best way we've found is to make it known to the prospect so that they understand that their offer is far lower than what you're willing to accept.

Only once you have shared that this is too low of an offer for you to accept and your prospect understand this that you can state the new price you would like to see the product go for and explain the value of what your prospect is getting in return.

3. Reject the anchor price

When you're in the midst of a negotiation and you find your prospect is not willing to negotiate and the value of the deal is not worth it, you can choose to reject the anchor. This can lead to a few outcomes:

• You can revisit the counter-anchor strategy later in the process
• You can start from scratch to discuss a different offer or set of terms that better aligns with their budget
• The two parties can examine if the collaboration is worth pursuing.

Conclusion

The more experience you have at negotiating the more comfortable you will be to navigate these different scenarios.

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Why Tonality Matters in Sales

Ever been in a situation when you're caught in a heated debate, when you reflect back it's often the way you say something is often more important than what you intended to say. This principle applies to sales as well. 

It's true; the tone of your voice might actually be jeopardising your sales success. You may have put hundreds of hours into researching your market, learning your product and crafting your pitch, but if you aren't aware of what your voice conveys to your potential customers, all the effort you've put in may be for nothing.

Here's the good news. If you're consciously aware of this aspect of communication, you can make a conscious effort to improve it (and your sales) in the process.

What is tonality?

Tonality refers to the way your voice sounds when you speak. If you notice how many miscommunications happen during text conversations or email exchanges it's often caused by a misinterpretation as the receiving person can't her the tone of your voice.

Although tonality can be influenced by your mood, your surroundings and even your upbringing you have the opportunity to consciously control how your words are presented. Think you already know how you sound? Record yourself during a mock sales pitch and then prepare to be surprised. Chances are you don't even realise how you're coming across.

Why is tonality important?

Sales is the art of communicating with another person. And in business, the first sale is always to yourself, if you don't believe in what you are offering, why would anyone else believe in it?

Even if you have perfected the words for your sales pitch, your tone may and will betray you. You should sound like you care about their problems and your prospects might actually give you a chance.

Mastering your tone is an essential part of your sales pitch and once you learn to control it, you'll be on your way to better sales.

How to use the right tone in your sales presentations?

Ever attended a presentation where the presenter presented his materials in the same monotonous tone through the conversation, you'd possibly passed out from boredom. Remember you will need to vary your tone through the conversation to keep your audience engaged and hanging your every word.

Conclusion

Some people are born with perfect tonality, they naturally know how to just talk to people to achieve their goals. But for the majority of us practice will only make us better. Be aware of your tonality and you've already made major strides to improving your sales presentation. This is an invaluable skill that you can practice and eventually master.

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How to Anchor During a Negotiation to Close 100% More Sales

Negotiation is a critical skill for anyone and especially for salespeople. Although there's no single perfect approach, it's in your ability to effectively negotiate a deal through being able to read the situation and act accordingly than it is about talking a prospect into doing what you want them to do.

When buyers make a purchase it's natural for them to experience a phenomenon called an anchoring bias which is the tendency to focus heavily on the first price they see in the context of a sale. By understanding how anchoring can impact the decision-making process, salespeople can be better equipped to handle different challenging situations during a negotiation with potential customers.

How anchoring works

Don't dive in without your diving gear. It's important that you determine what information to share with prospects. Keep in mind that the first value they hear has a high likelihood to influence their decision, and after your initial conversations with the prospect you feel you can present a package that is financially feasible for them and profitable for you, you can get ahead of anchoring bias by presenting a mutually beneficial first offer.

Challenges of Anchoring in Negotiation

Anchoring can also create challenges in the negotiation process when there is misalignment between two parties on the value of the offer.

Conclusion

The more experience you have at negotiating the more comfortable you will be working through these scenarios. To hone in your negotiation skills, hop on a video call with a colleague and try an exercise together.

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How to Get Your Sales Back on Track

More sales can mean more revenue and a bigger profit for your business, however, as your sales numbers continue to grow companies pass the point of being able to fulfils every order as soon as it's made. This is a sales backlog. This is often unavoidable, no matter how good your inventory management processes that have been set in place.

This isn't necessarily a bad position to be in. Although it is ideal to fill customer orders as quickly as possible, a healthy backlog shows that your product/service is highly in demand. 

The importance of a sales backlog

This could mean your product is high in demand, or it could mean that your fulfilment techniques are inefficient. Measuring your backlog helps you assess if your company is in a strong position for growth or this will continue to be a problem as you grow.

Best way to calculate your sales backlog

The best way to calculate your backlog is typically expressed as a ratio. Compare a period of time of your total orders with your ordering processing capacity. The rule of thumb is to have a larger number as this would mean that your backlog is larger. Here's an example of what the formula looks like:

Sales backlog = backlog of orders/total sales

For example if you make 110 sales per week but have a 10 order backlog (inability to fulfil sales) you would have a sales backlog of 0.09.

10/110=0.09

What this means is that for every order 0.09 (or 9%) orders are actually backlogged. Check in to see if this trends up over time or if this is repetitive in a cycle.

How to manage your sales backlog

To manage your sales backlog means effectively understanding what the ratio represents and how it actually impacts or effects your business operations. Check in frequently and implement a faster turnaround time for your suppliers or find ways to be able to deliver your service more efficiently.

Conclusion

The best-case management for your backlog means to find a sweet spot between demand and your available capacity, until you are able to solve either side of the issue. There are many tactics which include new physical processing capacities or increasing efficiency with the inclusion of specific processes.

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8 Different Tonal Patterns Which Will Help You Close More Sales

Tonality is broken up into 8 generally different patterns. Which you use will depend on the relationship you've managed to build with the other receiver. Look at it as where they are currently in the sales process and what you hope to gain in that moment of the conversation.

1. Scarcity/Urgency

This is used to convey the need to make a decision quickly.

2. Reasonable

You are on the same side as them, speaking to them as if you're one of them or you can relate from their point of view to build a positive relationship with the buyer.

3. Absolute Certainty

You know you can help them and you want them to understand that as well.

4. I Care

Empathy is important in everything you do including sales. Customers want to know that their problems really matter to you.

5. Using a question to be declarative

Ending your statement with a raised voice suggesting a question mark, to infer an agreement.

6. Series of 3 Up Tones

This micro-agreements can encourage others to agree with you.

7. The Presupposing Tone

You know the outcome they can expect and is especially helpful when emphasising the benefits which can be expected when using your product/service.

8. I really want to know

Customers yearn to be heard. Use this tone to allow you to communicate that you want to hear them and their problems.

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