Stupid Things To Say To A Referral Source.
Recently I had been "virtually" introduced to a company that provides a complementary service for marketing consultants. I won't be specific about the service for fear of hurting this particular company's feelings, but suffice to say, there is a lot of cross-referral potential between my company and theirs. Nearly every client we work with needs this company's services.
The "virtual" introduction is simply PC-speak for someone I know who wants me to meet someone they know, but doesn't necessarily want to physically be in the middle of that meeting. So, they tell me to call someone, they tell someone that I will be calling, we chat on the phone about our basic company services, and usually end up meeting in a loud, sometimes dirty coffeeshop.
In this case, I talked to the salesperson at length on the phone about what we do, and learned more about what his company does. He sent me a e-mailable brochure and I spent about half hour reading the fine print, doing some internet research on his company, and generally mentally preparing myself to meet him. I take these meetings seriously. In my life, time is literally money. When I'm out of the office, I'm generally not billable - and that means I'm not getting paid. Therefore, taking time out of my day to meet with potential referral sources needs to be taken seriously. We need to make the most of our time together - getting some basic information helps speed the process along.
The afternoon before our meeting, at 4.10 pm, I received an email from the salesperson. The general gist of the email was this: "Hi, sorry to do this to you at the last minute, but I talked to the owner of the company today, and they told me to tell you that our company is not interested in doing business or referring business to marketing consultants at this time." There was another paragraph in there full of well-wishes and niceties - and I felt badly for the sales rep, because it was an awkward position to be in.
However, WHAT THE HELL was that owner thinking? This has happened to us a few times over the past year, and every time it does, I'm completely mystified, stupefied, and irritated. Here's my rational.
1. Don't send the wrong message. If you're not interested in meeting with someone, regardless of what they do for a living, apparently you have far too much business and certainly don't need any referrals from anyone else outside of your immediate sphere of influence.
2. Don't anger your referral sources. The number one way to ensure you never receive a referral (or a kind word) from a consultant or salesperson of any kind is to tell them that you don't want to do business with "their kind".
3. Don't fear your competition. Even if we were technically competition for this company (which I assure you, we were not), some of the best referral sources can be your competition. If you follow the teachings of niche marketing, and are focused on your core competency and core market, there is plenty of business to go around. Some of our best clients have come from other marketing consultants, and even some of those clients have come from other marketing consultants in the professional services industry. Can you imagine what the response would have been if we had said disdainfully, "Sorry, we're not really interested in talking to other marketing consultants right now"? We have sent plenty of business out to companies that at first glance may appear to be competition. Try to check your ego at the door. Also try to check your fear. Competition is good and if you're truly focused on what you should be doing, no one can hurt you.
4. Don't assume you know everything. You probably don't. And all business owners tend to fall into the habit of assuming they know who their potential referral sources are - as well as who isn't. Keeping an open mind, and more importantly, an open ear can do wonders to revitalize your business.
After I digested the email telling me a meeting was not necessary at this time, I took the printed copy of his company's brochure and threw it in the trash. There are other companies who do what his does - and believe me, I'll be using the others.
The "virtual" introduction is simply PC-speak for someone I know who wants me to meet someone they know, but doesn't necessarily want to physically be in the middle of that meeting. So, they tell me to call someone, they tell someone that I will be calling, we chat on the phone about our basic company services, and usually end up meeting in a loud, sometimes dirty coffeeshop.
In this case, I talked to the salesperson at length on the phone about what we do, and learned more about what his company does. He sent me a e-mailable brochure and I spent about half hour reading the fine print, doing some internet research on his company, and generally mentally preparing myself to meet him. I take these meetings seriously. In my life, time is literally money. When I'm out of the office, I'm generally not billable - and that means I'm not getting paid. Therefore, taking time out of my day to meet with potential referral sources needs to be taken seriously. We need to make the most of our time together - getting some basic information helps speed the process along.
The afternoon before our meeting, at 4.10 pm, I received an email from the salesperson. The general gist of the email was this: "Hi, sorry to do this to you at the last minute, but I talked to the owner of the company today, and they told me to tell you that our company is not interested in doing business or referring business to marketing consultants at this time." There was another paragraph in there full of well-wishes and niceties - and I felt badly for the sales rep, because it was an awkward position to be in.
However, WHAT THE HELL was that owner thinking? This has happened to us a few times over the past year, and every time it does, I'm completely mystified, stupefied, and irritated. Here's my rational.
1. Don't send the wrong message. If you're not interested in meeting with someone, regardless of what they do for a living, apparently you have far too much business and certainly don't need any referrals from anyone else outside of your immediate sphere of influence.
2. Don't anger your referral sources. The number one way to ensure you never receive a referral (or a kind word) from a consultant or salesperson of any kind is to tell them that you don't want to do business with "their kind".
3. Don't fear your competition. Even if we were technically competition for this company (which I assure you, we were not), some of the best referral sources can be your competition. If you follow the teachings of niche marketing, and are focused on your core competency and core market, there is plenty of business to go around. Some of our best clients have come from other marketing consultants, and even some of those clients have come from other marketing consultants in the professional services industry. Can you imagine what the response would have been if we had said disdainfully, "Sorry, we're not really interested in talking to other marketing consultants right now"? We have sent plenty of business out to companies that at first glance may appear to be competition. Try to check your ego at the door. Also try to check your fear. Competition is good and if you're truly focused on what you should be doing, no one can hurt you.
4. Don't assume you know everything. You probably don't. And all business owners tend to fall into the habit of assuming they know who their potential referral sources are - as well as who isn't. Keeping an open mind, and more importantly, an open ear can do wonders to revitalize your business.
After I digested the email telling me a meeting was not necessary at this time, I took the printed copy of his company's brochure and threw it in the trash. There are other companies who do what his does - and believe me, I'll be using the others.
posted by Cristina at
9:50 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home