It isn’t
always easy to ask a customer for a recommendation. In particular those who
don’t make any recommendations themselves might find it difficult. However, as
a businessperson/salesperson, you should have the courage to deal with this
situation. So maybe it would be best if you followed these next 4 steps:
- With hindsight what prompted such a reaction? Which
logical and emotional reasons led to the acquisition/contract?
“Ms. Smith, what convinced you in the end to take this positive
step?"
- What should you focus on in the future? Make your customer think about a future situation so that emotions can
emerge, for example “How will your future change for the
better?”
- Who would you recommend? Don’t ask if your customer knows someone, but who he knows. For
instance, talk about spheres of influence or use the word
“automatically”, for example in the following sentence:
“Among your friends, who do you automatically think of who would
have the same interests?” “Among your colleagues, who would
also like to…?”
- Why would you recommend this person? Identify the reasons why the person recommending suggested precisely
this one person. Ask for all the important details so that you are
ready for making contact. Finally, ask a hypothetical question:
“Assuming you were in my position, what would you
recommend?”
If you are well prepared, making the first
contact towards the person being recommended should be a success, according to
experience. If both parties (person recommending and person being recommended)
are kept informed on a regular basis about the entire period of contact and
negotiation, it’s a win-win-win situation and the businessperson can
confidently do without cold calls. Customers are usually the best option to
convince customers! With a recommendation, salespeople can commit customers
even more to the company and the market. In a nutshell, nobody recommends
something he isn’t convinced of himself.
| Author |
Marc M. Galal
Marc M. Galal Institut,
Rudolfstr. 13-17,
60327
Frankfurt,
Phone: +49 69/74093270,
Email: info@marcgalal.com,
Homepage: www.marcg |
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