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Cold calling is interruption marketing in the consultancy world. When a prospect returns a cold call, it’s doubtful that they’re waiting and prepared to use our product to solve an issue they most likely aren’t even aware they have. Consider the last time you responded to an arbitrary sales call and transacted with the caller. Never for us. How do you get the majority of your clients? Is a question we posed to hundreds of consultants and CEOs from various businesses. Referrals are the most typical response.
Even though this is the most frequently given response, very few businesses actually have a mechanism in place to consistently generate referrals. Mistakenly, many consultants believe that referral opportunities are only available to a small group of warm contacts. And once they recommended us to someone else, the well had run dry. To spread our Magnetic Message over the globe, we should be utilizing a variety of marketing strategies. The most efficient approach to produce quality leads is through referrals, thus those marketing strategies should contain a strategy for doing so. I don’t mean to imply that outbound marketing can be entirely replaced. Instead, we consultants should complement our outbound marketing with a methodical strategy for consistently producing referrals.
There are 3 surefire techniques to boost your referral engine and keep leads coming in
Provide Your Clients with Exceptional Value
Providing your clients with excellent results is the first step in generating referrals for your consulting firm. The client most likely to spread the word about you to their network is one who is thrilled with the value they’ve obtained from working with you. They will automatically recommend you based on their interactions with you and the outcomes you have produced for them.
You may already be aware of this. However, you might approach consumer satisfaction in a more methodical manner.
Consider the precise value you give for your clients and the process through which you provide it as a challenge for yourself by posing the following questions:
- What value do you create with your particular style of consulting service?
- Economic outcomes (earning them more money or saving them money)?
- How much nonverbal, emotional assistance you offer?
- How quickly you can step in to address issues and offer direction.
Value can manifest itself in a variety of ways. You must also be aware of the precise kind of value you generate. You’ll be able to provide the most “WOW” experience for each individual client in this way, one that will cause them to extol your virtues to their network as a whole.
Continue the Relationship Beyond Your Contracted Engagement
The owner of an antique shop is Jenna. Her store attracts diverse customers looking for their dream items. Jenna provides them a fantastic experience throughout the whole process. She goes above and beyond to reduce the stress that comes with looking for the ideal items. Her clients leave the session with a sense of empowerment, self-assurance, and readiness for the day they’ve been picturing since they knew they had to have their dream antique item. The value that Jenna’s clients get in return for their investment in working with her is fantastic.
Once Jenna’s clients have paid for their items, the two no longer collaborate after the sale since Jenna’s clients have paid for their items, and so does their business dealings end. Even though she added value, Jenna had no idea if her clients would recommend her once the excitement of the procured antiques had faded.
Jenna therefore devised a strategy for continuing to communicate with her clients after they had purchased from her. She maintained the connection, which enabled her to build a foundation of clients who had previously had wonderful experiences working with her. She only needed to stay in touch by sending them little notes, deals, and offers to share with their friends and family. She kept in touch with her prior clients, letting them know that she could provide any antique items they knew plus the same fantastic experience. Her referrals skyrocketed as she developed the habit of consistently following up with her previous clients.
Do you see how this relates to your consulting firm?
Maintaining relevance and being at the forefront of your clients’ minds can frequently lead to referrals. Every few months, establish a routine of sending a short follow-up communication to all of your previous customers.
A more consistent referral business was developed by Jenna by maintaining those connections and the dialogue; you can do the same.
Focus on Growing and Activating Your Network
How many phone numbers do you still have on your list but haven’t phoned in years?
How many of those numbers belong to someone you’ve been wanting to call, but you’ve just never gotten around to it – for whatever reason?
Let’s imagine you have 50 contacts who you could get in touch with to rekindle your relationship. Naturally, you’ll talk about your recent activities throughout that conversation. “Hey, next time you’re speaking with someone who would benefit from my experience, think of me,” you can say respectfully when you catch up with them (whether on the first call or the second).
It’s actually asking if they feel confident suggesting you rather than asking for a referral.
We greatly boost the likelihood of speaking with a prospect who could utilize our assistance by continually growing and connecting with our network.
Summary
There are various ways to find our ideal clients, but the majority of them necessitate spending a lot of time establishing rapport and trust before they hire us. Referrals come to us from a reliable source, which eliminates a lot of the time, money, and effort needed to persuade someone to choose us over our competitors as their best option. Reaching our potential clients can be done in a variety of ways. And many of them demand that we spend a lot of time establishing relationships with them before they hire us.
But recommendations come to us from a reliable source. As a result, they lessen the time, energy, and expense required to convert a prospect into a client. Considering that they are coming from a reliable source and are endorsing you as the ideal answer. Your referral partners assist you with your marketing efforts.
Don’t get us wrong, making cold calls can be effective, but doing so takes the longest. Be sure to put work into developing a foundation of referrals in addition to your cold calling and cold emailing. Building a successful consulting practice may be accomplished more quickly and with less hassle when you have mechanisms in place to generate referral business.
