Article Contributed by Joanne Black

Have your phones stopped ringing yet? The economy is lagging and dragging. We've felt the effects in the United States. Now we're seeing global implications.

So, how do you tackle economic uncertainty?

Cut advertising, travel, training, marketing, and discretionary expense line items? Cut purchasing? Ouch!

The pipeline starts to dry up and the anxiety level goes through the roof. Many people think that since there's nothing they can do, they should just do nothing. But "nothing" is futile thinking.

What If You Could Reach Your Market Without Incurring Any Hard Costs?

The only budget you need to worry about is your simply your time… your time to ask for referrals!

You know about referrals. When a qualified prospect is referred to us, we get a new client typically between 70 and 90 percent of the time. Additionally, we are pre-sold. Our selling time decreases. Credibility increases. And, we ace out the competition.

There is no other business-development process that can claim these results. Results are the only thing that matters. And, now you will be able to achieve results simply by implementing the following 8 "Killer" strategies.

8 "Killer Steps" to Attracting New Business in a Lagging Economy

1. Broaden Your Perspective
What business are you in? Redefine and reinvent yourself. Determine how you can create a leap in demand for your products and services. Build new alliances and consider alternate distribution channels. Don't go solo. It's important to assemble a group of advisors and get their input and creative ideas. Include people who have differing points of view from you. Not easy, but critical.

2. Be Nimble and Innovative
You'll never have all the facts. Make quick decisions. Be fearless and make tough choices. Create new uses for your products. Why not a new business model?

3. Dazzle Your Current Customers
Your current customers need care and feeding. Don't ignore them at the expense of new business, because they are your best source for new business.

4. Prioritize Wisely
The most important activity for any salesperson is to do what's "closest to cash" the first thing every single day—whether it's following up with a prospect, writing a proposal, or closing a deal.

5. Become an Expert
Companies hire experts because they can't afford to make mistakes. Position your company as the expert with a specific product or in a specific market niche. Become an expert and people will be more likely to refer you.

6. Stay Connected
If you want to get more referrals you have to network like crazy. Attend a minimum of one event a week. You never know who you will meet and what you will learn. Never let your network go down. Networking is an essential referral marketing activity. So go make connections and build your business.

Talk to people and find out how you can help them. How is their business doing? Are they impacted by the lagging economy? How? Don't email, call. You make connections by talking to people and by spending the time to have a robust conversation.

7. Don't Cut Prices, Increase Value
There's a lot of chatter about cutting prices in a lagging economy. Many small business owners think businesses are cutting back, so prospects don't have money for their projects. But, by cutting prices, you're cutting your profits even further. Instead, consider how to "get in and get started." Divide your offering into smaller chunks, get results, and create traction. Or, give more value. When you offer high-value products and services, people will refer you and you will get more sales, even in a recession economy.

8. Commit to Building Your Referral Business
Referrals are always terrific, but they mean even more in a lagging economy. Don't let the lagging economy trickle down on you. Take charge and make your phone ring again! Let your prospects know how much you care about them. Tell and show just how much you appreciate their business. Inform them that you'd like to help people just like them. And, don't forget to thank your prospects and clients for their referral.

Follow these tips and you will get more referrals. You will attract new business. You will get more clients. You will accelerate your sales. And, you will achieve higher results without increasing your cost of sales. In fact, there's a great chance that you will decrease your costs!

America's leading authority on referral selling and founder of No More Cold Calling, Joanne Black helps salespeople, sales teams, and business owners get more referrals and attract more business fast without increasing costs. Now, discover how to turn prospects into clients more than 50 percent of the time even during a down economy with her Recession-Proof Your Business Emergency Kit at: http://www.nomorecoldcalling.com/products.html

• 3 Comments

  

Comments

Hello Joanne,

Would like to first praise you for the time & effort you put into this article. This article is brilliant! It shows the knowlege, value you place in your efforts. Thank you again, It will prove to be helpful in my marketing career.

Jonathon Pugsley
Marketing Consultant
homebasedphilosphy@getresponse.com
http://www.networkmarketer2.com/attraction-marketing-with-magn

 Posted by: Jonathon Pugsley at October 14, 2008 7:35 PM

It is important to stay connected and commit to building your referral business. This is even more critical during these economic times as you don’t want to waste your time trying to connect with others who will not generate valuable leads.

There are a few good sites out there that focus on building a trusted network specifically to exchange referrals and build your business. The one that I have found to be most beneficial is Referral Key.

This tool allows you to build your trusted network as well as manage your referrals, so you know that each relationship is mutually beneficial. These types of niche sites are what is ultimately going to help businesses strive during these times, so take advantage.

 Posted by: Anne at October 15, 2008 5:16 PM

The entire article is great, fantastic points, but the one that had the most impact on me was staying personally connected. It's so easy to drop an email to someone, but more difficult for most people to pick up the phone or pay a visit, yet that is precisely the most beneficial thing they can do. Thanks for a great article.
Alan

 Posted by: Alan at November 14, 2008 3:19 PM

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