How to increase referrals by keeping in touch with people that you meet!   
 

Smart business people know that getting referrals is the best way to attract new customers.  Why?  Referred individuals are more likely to do business with you because someone they know or trust suggested that you can  help them.    Research shows that customers who come from referrals are better customers. They pay faster, complain less, buy more, and stay longer term.

When I recently analyzed where attendees and newsletter subscribers of Face To Face Networking came from, the numbers pointed a very clear picture. 
 

Getting Referrals Can Be Difficult.

Many business owners are uncomfortable to ask for referrals and it can be a challenge to get people to remember  you as time goes by.   Think about it for a minute.  You meet someone at a networking event, can not currently help each other, and are not a good fit for whatever reason to set a follow up meeting.  Eight months later, that same person that you met at the networking event has a need for your services.  The million dollar question is??? Will they think of you first?

How to Get More Referrals

Networking is a long term process, it is about developing relationships and bonding with people over time.   That means keeping in constant contact with them.  Yes it is true,  you can send out a quick email to people to keep in touch, but networking guru's all seem to agree that a hand written personal note or card is the preferable form of communication for building rapport.

The Secrets of the Most Successful Referral Marketers

Have you heard of Joe Girard? He was a car salesman noted in the Guinness Book of World Records for selling the most cars (on a one on one basis) 12 consecutive years in a row.  All of Joe’s business came from referrals. What was his secret?

Joe developed a system to keep in touch with his customers and potential clients.  Every phone call or personal contact he made, Joe would write down on a file card any relevant information. He then sent everybody on his list a unique greeting card every single month! These weren't high pressure sales letters, just friendly reminders to let people know that he was thinking about them.

Tom Hopkins is currently a well known sales trainer with his roots stemming from real estate sales.  Tom made a commitment to send 10 hand written notes every day and  broke real estate sales records!  Within three years, 98% of his business came from referrals.  Tom Hopkins uses the same system that will be outlined below.

The Problem With Sending Greeting Cards and Handwritten Notes to keep in touch with people.
 

1. You need to develop a system to track people's important dates/information.  This can be quite overwhelming when you think about the number of people you meet.
    

2. You have to go to the card store and find the right card.  This can be a very time consuming process in itself and costly if you have to drive to the store.  (Hey, gas is $4.29 a gallon!).   
    

3. Then a trip to the post office to mail the card.  Time is money, and again, you are spending more time here.
    

4. The Cost of the cards could average between $2 and $3 per card. 

The answer...

What if I told you that you do not have to do steps 1-4 above, and that you can send out the hand written card from your home in less than sixty (60) seconds?  The cost of the card could be 62 cents plus your standard postage rate of .44 for a whopping investment of $1.06.   The cards could also be personalized by adding your own images or company logo.  And the best part......

The card is written in your own handwriting and is mailed using a real stamp (not a bulk mail scan). 

There is a service that can do exactly this.  The company formed a strategic alliance with BNI in 2006.  

How You Can Use this system to Keep In Touch and Increase Your Referrals!

Have you ever wanted to send a card to someone and either forgot to do it, or could not find the time? Have you ever wanted to send a series of follow up messages to a business prospect or customer, but could not keep track of who and when to send it to? The  system solves those problems.

Since I started using the system, when I meet someone at an event,  I try to get the person’s contact information, birth date, anniversary date or any other special day that matters to them.  They may tell you that their spouse gave birth to a new baby last Thursday named Joseph.  The birth day of their child is important to them.   I then put that information into the  reminder system and when the date comes around, the reminder tells me to send a personal card to them.

Next, I pick out an appropriate greeting card in the system (it has thousands of greeting cards categorized by different occasions), write a note to the person, add my logo or image, and then click the send button.  The card is mailed out the next day in my own hand writing. 

Not Only Does this System Generate Referrals, But It Closes Sales!

In most industries, it takes about 5-8 contacts with a prospect before a sale is made.  However, the vast majority of people do not have a system on how to follow up...until now.

If you can enter a name and address and push a button, you can launch an extensive follow up relationship building program with your prospects. Imagine how this system could set you apart from every one else vying for your prospect's attention.

What better way to establish a rapport with someone than with a sequence of sincere greeting cards. 

Vincent the carpet cleaner and Gina the Attorney

Background story

Vincent the carpet cleaner meets Gina the attorney at a networking event.  They talk for a while and realize that they can not help each other at this time, however do the customary business card exchange.  Gina mentions during the conversation that her birthday is tonight, and that she will not be staying much longer at the event since she is meeting her husband for dinner.

Scenario #1

Vincent the carpet cleaner, the great networker that he is, sends out a nice to meet you email to Gina the attorney and all of the other attendees from the event.  Fourteen months go by and Gina the attorney has been promoted to oversee the entire law office.   Shortly after, the law office experiences a flood and all of the carpets need to be cleaned.  Gina vaguely remembers meeting Vincent, but does not know where his contact information is, and she hires a local company to clean the carpets.    Vincent did not get the job.

Scenario #2

Vincent the carpet cleaner realizes that although he and Gina can not help each other at the present time, that could change at a moments notice.  He wants to keep in touch with Gina and stand out from the dozens of other individuals who also sent a follow up nice to meet you email. 

Vincent remembered that it was Gina's birthday, and he sent her a  follow up hand written nice to meet you/ happy birthday card.   He added Gina's contact information into a database along with her birthday.     A year later, Vincent the carpet cleaner sent Gina the attorney another hand written happy birthday card.  The card also had his picture and company logo along with birthday wishes and a reminder that they met about a year ago at a networking event.    Shortly afterwards Gina the attorney was promoted to oversee the entire law office and needed to have all of the carpets cleaned after a flood.  Can you take a guess who got the phone call?

Vincent kept in touch with Gina and he was the first person she thought of when the issue of carpet cleaning came up.  Are the people you network with and meet during every day life going to think of you first?.  They might, but you can improve your chances greatly by using the same system that Vincent did.

Send your own card for Free!

Think of someone you would like to thank for a referral, thank for taking the time to meet with you, wish happy birthday or for any other reason.  Give me a call at (718) 757-6933 or email me at info@FaceToFaceNetworking.com.  It will take about 15 minutes for me to walk you through the system and you will be able to send out a card for FREE.  It will come from you, with your return address and your special note. 

Thanks for reading and I look forward to speaking with you soon!

Jay Rosensweig
www.FaceToFaceNetworking.com
718-757-6933

Contact us now at (516) 908-9638 or (718) 757-6933 with any questions.