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Your Unpaid Salesforce
Turn Your Existing Network into Your Unpaid Sales Force
(and start getting more referrals)
It’s important to educate the people you consider personal advocates (those who know you, like you, trust you, love you and want the best for you), and let them know what you’re up to and who your best clients are. If you’re just starting out, it’s a letter of introduction; if you’ve been in practice several months or years, write an “update letter” of how your practice has grown or new services that you provide.
Now, before you resist this and think it might be too forward, read on. The fact is; most people who are your personal advocates will be happy to help (people LOVE to give referrals and to help out a friend in business, especially when the person is a trusted friend). It makes them feel good, yet most of us somehow feel we’re being a burden on our network when we do this. The good news is; it all depends on how tastefully it’s done.
In both of my private practices, I sent “warm” letters of introduction letting my friends and family know what I was doing and asking them to think of me when they saw or overheard a particular situation relating to my coaching. Both times, I received clients right away, and both times, friends also referred people as long after the fact as 6 months to a year after receiving the letter. It sure feels good to get those phone calls from people you don’t know saying they’d like to work with you.
This will be one of your most effective client attraction tools, and best of all; it’s relatively no cost to you! Here’s what you do: write a letter to contacts that you already know, as an announcement or introduction to your services. Be sure to keep it friendly, warm, as well as educational, remember, this is NOT a sales letter. You’re just educating your environment at this point. Describe your ideal client and ask the recipient if they know someone who might fit that profile.
I sent it to everyone I knew, about 10 to 20 a week. I hand-wrote a couple of words at the top to make it more personal. (“Hi Mary! It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other. Would love to catch up over a cup of tea. I’ll call you this week. Best, Fabienne.”)
That following week, I would call the people I wrote to, set up a meeting for breakfast, lunch or tea, get caught up on their life and talk to them about my new business, asking them if anyone they knew fit my ideal client profile.
The result? Word spread and I received a number of clients and referrals this way.
Client example:
A former client of mine (a professional organizer) dragged her feet with this idea at first, thinking that it was too sales-y for her personal style and she wasn’t going to get any leads or new clients that way. After some coaxing and coaching, she started the process of sending out letters of introduction and was absolutely shocked at the results: new clients started coming in and her friends, former colleagues, school friends and family were the ones referring them. She was thrilled and years later, continues to update her personal advocates on what she’s up to, using her update letter.
New clients weren’t the only things she received. Soon after, this client was flown from New York to Washington D.C. to give a seminar on organizing one’s office and do a series of organizing projects within a corporation. This referral, as you may have guessed, came directly from a “non-sales-y” introduction letter she sent to a remote friend in Washington—only 3 weeks after sending it out.
Your Assignment:
* Create and send a “warm” letter of introduction as an announcement/update of your practice to contacts that you already know.
* This includes everyone (your family, friends, colleagues, past clients, and acquaintances).
* Keep it friendly, as well as educational, but definitely NOT
sales-y.
* You may write a handwritten hello at the top of the page to make it more personal.
* Follow up one week later with a phone call and invite people to join you for a conversation, either in person for a casual meeting or over the phone.
* Describe your Ideal Client and ask them if they know someone who might fit that profile.
* If you have been in practice several months or years, write an “update letter” of how your practice has grown or new services that you provide.
© 2006 Client Attraction LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Expert, is founder of the Client Attraction System™, the proven step-by-step program to help you attract more clients, in record time and consistently. To sign up for her freebie how-to articles and no-charge teleclasses on attracting more clients, visit www.ClientAttraction.com. |
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