Bad Referrals Don't Exist

Last week I was at a meeting and heard someone say “there are no bad referrals,” and following that state ment he then said “I’d work a referral from anyone.” I love that perspective and it’s how we all start our careers in sales.

However it doesn’t take long for us to lose that “I’ll talk to anyone” perspective and embrace the “that lead sucks” program. Professional salespeople should be operating at a higher level and embrace the “there are no bad referrals” perspective.

I suggest we subscribe to three obvious networking principles… I call them Obvious 1, Obvious 2 and Obvious 3.

Obvious 1. “We Network to Serve First and Make Money Second” – This is so basic and here's how Zig Ziglar put it long ago… “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want...” So if that’s the case then:

Obvious 2. “There must be Multiple Objectives in Networking” – I shared this concept a few months back. Think about it… even if you want to help people first and make money second, you’ll still be rejected more often than accepted unless you have multiple objectives when prospecting. Here’s the top three I teach: A. Secure business. B. Secure permission to market. C. Create a professional and positive experience. These two impressions (professional and positive), are not created as often as they should be… Which is sad because:

Obvious 3. “Most Business comes after the First Introduction” – A good friend of mine is a pest control professional. He loves it, and after a year or two of building his business, he now turns business away. He loves telling me that – and he’s also mentioned that many of the people he works with now told him “no thanks” earlier. You never know when a past referral will call and need help. Just because you don’t get business from an introduction today, doesn’t mean you won’t get a call tomorrow.

TK