Build Quality Relationships with Potential Clients & Referral Partners
Video Highlights:
If you’ve ever been in a situation where you feel like you’ve reached out to potential prospects or referral partners and they’re not returning your calls or answering your emails, this video is for you!
The strategy I talk about in this video is for people you already know. They’re not foreign, they’re not brand new cold traffic. They’re people that you already know, like, and trust. Since we’re talking about business and we’re wanting to get business referrals, this is going to be people that are the most likely to refer you business. If it’s not necessarily somebody that’s gonna refer you business, they don’t belong on this list and that’s okay.
Step One – The List:
Make a list of the top 25 people you interact with on a regular basis. Once you have that figured out, put a star by the people that you haven’t had any interaction with in over a month because you’re going to want to tackle those people first. Remember, these are people that are most likely going to refer you business. They can be clients, they can be prospects, they can be just people with inside your network.
Step Two – The Email:
Take your list of 25 people and over a period of 30 days, contact five of them a day. Send them a simple email like this:
Subject Line: “Checking in” or “Reconnecting, what’s up stranger”
Hey FIRST NAME,
I know it’s been a while since we’ve connected. I’d love to reconnect with you via quick follow up phone call to learn about your current areas of focus and how I might be able to support you.
As a convenience, so we don’t have to go back and forth with setting up that call, take a look at my calendar and book a time that works best for you.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Thanks,
YOUR NAME
TIP: Use a scheduling tool such as Calendly so the scheduling process can be automated.
When we want to attract people into the things that we’re doing and we want to fill them in on some of the exciting details that are going on about us professionally, we’ve got to give people a reason to get in touch with us. We’ve got to give people a reason to interact.
Step 3 – The Call:
You’re going to spend the first 10 or 15 minutes on the call learning about their current areas of focus and how you can support them. If there’s a way you or someone in your network, can support them, let them know. Always be thinking about, okay, what is this person telling me? How can I support them? How can I truly support them?
This isn’t a sales call but if you can connect them with a referral or have an opportunity that’s in line with their current areas of focus, let them know. For the next half of this call, you can ask them if it is it okay if you share what’s going on with you. If they say yes, you can fill them in on the details.
The whole point of building solid relationships and getting referrals into your pipeline, getting people to want to continue the conversation with you is to give people a reason to do it. When you come from a place of service first and build a relationship with your prospects, the more likely they are to return the favor.
Step 4 – Tracking:
This doesn’t require you to go out there and get some fancy CRM system. Just use a spreadsheet to keep track of your list. You’ll want to keep track of when you sent the email, who responded, who hasn’t, and who you need to circle back with.
As your network grows, keep adding to this list and refer back to it often!
If you know of somebody that would value would find value in what we’re talking about today as it relates to being productive about forming those partnerships in your business, I would love if you would share this with them.