1. How I Get Business (sales)
By Melinda Potcher
I was fortunateenough to be exposed to the BNI (Business Network Int’l) culture
early on in my career. They foster the idea that if you help enough people get
what they want, you can have whatyou want. (See attached article, Scotsman’s
Guide Residential Edition, 05/2009.)
I carry that sentiment in my heart and in every day of my work. The way I get
business is to genuinely care about other people and help them get business and
make connections. By doing this, I am able to leverage my influence and have
them happy to return the favor to me. Itmay be an introduction to an HR person
for a corporate relocation department inside Lovelace Hospital or Honeywell, etc.
At one time, I was referred to a client who was a recent graduate of accounting
school. She had worked for KPMG in their tax department, and was now working
for a local bank in their tax department. I was able to help her and her husband
refinance their “farm” – a home that sat on 80 acres with a 12 acreorchard
surrounding thehousein Estancia. No one else in the Metro was able to help her
– not even the bank sheworked for. She was so thankful, she referred me to not
one, not 2, but 3 other of her classmates who needed my services. They were all
pretty significantpeople in tax accounting working for different companies
around the city. I think that was my favorite year. To have the opportunity to
work with financial professionals and havethem refer me to their colleagues and
contemporaries was the greatest compliment I could receive.
Once I’vehelped someone else get what they want, inevitably they will ask me
how they can help me. YOU HAVETO ASKFOR WHAT YOUWANT. You can’t say;
“Oh, nothing, no, I’mgood, thank you.” Something to remember; you don’t
step forward and ask if you have done nothing for that person – I mean, you may,
but it’s a little off-putting to ask for favors if the person you are asking doesn’t
know you or feel you will return the favor.
As soon as they have provided the referralto you, you have to back it up and do a
GREAT JOB. The proof is in the pudding, so to speak – do you answer your phone

2. before it goes to voicemail? Do you return missed calls within 2 hours? Do you
return them the same day? Do people wantto talk to you? Are you terse with
them on the phone or can they hear the smile in your voice? Do you go above
and beyond to answer their questions, checking for understanding before
proceeding? Are you an advocatefor your clients? Do you put their interests
above your own? That’s whereI come from. (See attached article, Win-Win-
Win.)
However, I also do not wastetime on people who think it is ok to waste mine. I
don’t like playing games and my time is valuable, so if I am referred to someone, I
will call and leave a message, follow up 2 days later with another messageor an
email, then at the end of the week, I will follow up with the person who referred
them to me. If I still haven’t heard from them, they are not meant to be and I
move on to the next one. (See Article – 10 Commandments of Networking – I’m
pretty much a stickler about these.)
After a “sale” is closed – or a client’s transaction is completed, the onus is on me
to follow up – I usually wait a month then call them to check in. I call or email or
send them a card after 90 days. If atall possible, I make them my friend on
facebook. I remember to ask them for referrals. I remember to wish them a
Happy Birthday. Itdoesn’t take expensive gifts or chatchkes, it requires I be
thoughtful and take the time to cultivate my investment in that person, in their
family, and make it grow for me.