Customer referrals and testimonials are free marketing, yet why do some businesses shy away from asking their customers for these gifts? Here are some ideas to get you focussed and to enable you to take action. The chances are that your customers are just waiting for you to ask. Presented Dartford , 5 Nov 13, Kent Invicta Chamber After Hours Club

1. Getting more business
with your customers
John Austin-Brooks
Director
Vector Resources Limited
November 2013
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2. Contents
The aim of this presentation is to to get you and your business focussed on
• Asking for and getting more referrals from customers
• Achieving more business with your customers
• Strengthening relationships beyond the selling
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3. About me and my company
• Career in sales and sales leadership, and familiar with achieving ambitious goals
with limited resources
• Understand the challenges of implement a strategy, and how to get traction with
your sales results to aid its success
• I have always been passionate about getting things done and this is at the heart of
Vector Resources
• We provide the skills and expertise at the right phase for your business
• Whether it’s helping you implement a sales plan with your incumbent
team, or being your outsourced sales team – we can help
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4. Your customers
• Getting business from an existing customer is generally 6 times more cost
effective than recruiting a new client
• 86% of growing businesses in a recent survey* cited word of mouth and
customer referrals as their leading source of new customers
• Customer referrals (warm leads) can convert 2 out of 3 times
• Unqualified leads (cold) are often 1 in 10
• Yet how often do you proactively ask your customers for referrals?
So when are you going to take action?
*Bank of America Small Business Owner Report, Spring 2013
http://ow.ly/qiNq0
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5. Have a plan
• Like many things, if you take a sporadic approach to your activities you will lack a
full understanding of which efforts are producing the best results
• Set some goals and timelines for achieving these – get focussed
• You may wish to target your top 20 customers or those in a specific industry
• Then work back to identify what activities will make these goals happen
• Review regularly, and give it time before making hasty adjustments
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6. Asking for referrals
• When to ask
• Before, during or after the sale? Embed expectation with customers
• Who to ask
• All or selected customers?
• What are you asking for
• Referral, testimonial, opportunity (see ‘what else’)?
• Be specific
• What does a good referral look like? Practice your message/request
• Take ownership of the task
• The priority to make contact or create the testimonial is greatest with you
• Thank your referrer
• Where possible let them know the outcome
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7. More business with customers
• Do you assume your customers know everything about your business and what you
offer?
• Understand your customer and their needs
• Refrain from sending them all your literature, or giving them the ‘my company
monolog’
• What special offers or incentives could you offer to reward your loyal customers?
• Could you host an event or share some insights/tips that your customers would value?
• Be clear about what is your primary service or market and what are affiliate offerings
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8. What else
Consider other opportunities where you could work closer with your customers
• If your customers have a strong social media presence/platform
• Could they mention your business in their communications?
• Do they host events?
• Could you speak at an event or attend to network?
• What PR coverage do they have?
• Would you have something to add to their press releases?
• Are you able to reciprocate?
• What else?
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9. Strengthening the relationships
• Think about how you say thank you
• Can you do more to stand out from your competitors?
• What ongoing communication do you have with customers?
• If it’s a newsletter, could you use it to publicly recognise your valued
clients?
• How often do you look out for referrals for your customers?
• Think of opportunities to help your customers and suppliers connect with
others
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10. Get in touch
John Austin-Brooks
Vector Resources Limited
T. 01795 250 220
M. 07932 512 188
john@vector-resources.co.uk
www.my-sales-team.com
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