How to Leverage the Right Contacts to Increase Sales
Do you remember the popularity contests in high school? Were you one of the popular kids, or were you on the outside of popularity. I have been on both sides of this contest and at the beginning of high school, I was very shy and this put me squarely with the not so popular crowd. In my junior year, I made a few important friendship connections from my involvement in sports and found myself in the inner circle of the in-crowd. Being associated with the in-crowd was a different experience and there were more opportunities to attend parties and cool events that I didn't know existed. In many respects, it made life more fun and much easier to sail through high school. I had friends who wanted to be around me and I wanted to be around them for helping one another. The same is true in college and the friendships you develop throughout your life and career can become the important connection you need in business.
Who you know makes a difference
It isn't always how smart you are or if your product or service is the best. In business, it is often who you know that will open opportunities for you. If you are like me, you can look back on your life and recall doors that opened because it was a connection who knew something or someone that made a difference.
Imagine that you have the hottest new miracle widget that will increase sales for a small to mid sized business by 20 percent. Great, you have a great product or service. This alone won't open any doors for you. You must get the word out and generate excitement for your offering. The traditional routes will depend on your market niche and your budget for reaching this market.
Let's say that one of your best friends is in charge of props in the movie business and after hearing about your new product, decides to showcase your item in a key scene of a romantic drama. Hugh Jackman, the sexiest man according to People magazine endorses your product during a romantic scene. Do you think this will have a positive impact in your sales? Of course it will and this all relates to how great an influence a key referral and recommendation has in your business.
Leveraging the Right Contacts for Referrals
The challenge with many businesses is not that they don't have a great product or service. It is usually because not enough of the right people know about them and talk about them. It would be as if you are a shy kid in high school that can't get the attention deserving of an opportunity. Getting to the right people has a lot to do with leveraging your contacts to reach the right people. If you ask business development experts who specialize in the referral business, they will tell you the biggest challenge is getting clients to ask their clients for referrals. Most satisfied clients will be happy to share a positive experience with a company. You just have to ask for them.
Leveraging the right contacts is one of the most important strategies you can implement that will have a dynamic impact on your business. Just because Hugh Jackman isn't going to be talking about your product doesn't mean that you can't find someone with similar influence in your industry.
One relatively new strategy is using social networking sites like LinkedIn, Face book to generate and identify new contacts in your markets. Social networking is a dynamic online tool for increasing your web footprint. It is quite likely that your key clients have connections you can leverage to find new prospects. All it takes is a simple question. Can you ask this question if it means more business? The point of this article is, leverage your existing contacts to grow your business dynamically by referrals and social networking.
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