GETTING OTHERS TO SELL FOR YOU!
by Gerry Robert

"Here's my mission statement," said the New York City Cab driver to my friend, Kenneth Blanchard, as the bags were being placed in the trunk. A cab driver with a "mission statement"? Yes! "My mission is to take you to your destination in the most pleasant manner possible."

Not only that but Ken informed me that the cab driver showed him a card that listed all the radio shows he could listen to or he could get a spoken tour from the driver. He was offered coffee or tea. The driver even had a cooler on the front seat with snacks. This is not a limo but a regular New York City Yellow Cab. Can you imagine the word-of-mouth advertising this cab would get?

How about what you sell?

If you think for a moment that you don't advertise, THINK AGAIN. You do! Every day you advertise if various ways. The message you send out (intentionally or otherwise) speaks volumes. Unfortunately, sometimes the talk is not too loud and the times it is loud, it's the wrong kind. Not many people know how to use it to their advantage. Every salesperson within the borders of your country should learn to use it to attract positive attention to themselves. It makes selling so much easier.

I received a letter from a financial planner and he had glued a penny to the letter. That day I had received a lot of mail but his letter quickly stood out from the rest. You need to do things to stand out from the rest. There are dozens, hundreds and perhaps thousands of people who sell what you sell. Why should they buy from you? You need to stand out from the pack. You can get so much mileage with word-of-mouth advertising that I am often puzzled why people don't try to generate more of it.

Word-of-mouth advertising ...

• - is inexpensive
• - is easy to do
• - requires creativity
• - works every time
• - is quick
• - is fun
• ... and is effective.

Energize the Talk Factor

Listen, you want people to be talking about you and what you sell. That's one of the keys to success. It lowers the possibility of rejection and gets people who are predisposed to buy what you sell to call you. Isn't that better than knocking on doors, being rejected all day long?

Just by doing a few little things differently, you will stand out in the minds of prospects and I promise, they'll tell others about you. Here are a few low-cost, high-"talk" yield things you could do. Adapt them to your personality and industry but don't discount them because they appear so simple. Unless, you current referral rate is above 60% then quickly start implementing some of these ideas:

Do something for FREE to every client.

A painting contractor in Canada has printed a special block on its invoices. Every paint crew must find one little thing to fix on every job. The item is repaired for Free and must be initialed by the crew manager. The customer is always informed of the freebie. It might be something small but they tell their friends about it.

Do something for the Kids and family.

I know an insurance agent who brings a kid's video to sales presentations to keep the kids occupied during the sales call. A dry cleaner, regularly gives a rose and says, "Give this to someone you love." Do you think that would get people talking?

Do a weekly or daily "positive thought of the day" fax.

Pay your prospects for leads.

Have a drawing.

Use humor.

Greg & John Rice from Florida are Vertically Challenged, they are midgets. They mail posters to their database with funny sayings on them. The funniest is a picture of these short people standing in front of a urinal that is considerably higher than they are and the saying is "So, you think you have problems."

Send cartoons through fax just to keep in touch.

It will brighten up someone's day and the reward is that they'll talk to others about you.

Don't nickel and dime the customer.

If you sell cars, fill up the tank when they take away the car. Don't you just hate it when people try to get every penny from you. Avoid this like the plague. People will talk when they get special treatment.

Be an information source.

Give reports, telephone numbers, contacts that your customers will find beneficial.

Take pictures of your customers and mail it to them.

Brighten somebody's day.

Make dealing with you the highlight of the customer's day. At a grocery store, if ever there are more than two people in the checkout line, somebody steps up and serves cookies and ice cream to the customers to keep them happy while they wait. Webber's restaurant in Ontario serve's French fries to the people standing in line.

Do something special for your target market.

A muffler shop in South Bend, Indiana womenized the decor in their muffler shop to appeal to female customers.

Send a card of gift for every referral.

Be unique.

I heard of one consultant who wanted to meet with CEO's of major corporations. The traditional methods did not work. Instead, she sent a beautiful tray of muffins on Monday morning with a lovely note, "You will see me, I know you won't be able to resist seeing me for ever." The next Monday, she'd send another basket of candies and another card. "Are you ready to see me yet or do I purchase another gift for next week? You know you will see me don't you?" She had an 85% success rate with this approach. It was expensive but in her case was very worthwhile.

Stay in touch.

An insurance agent in Toronto, sends out 35 letters every Friday with a $2 bill attached. The uniqueness of the letter gets all kinds of attention. When he calls to make an appointment everyone remembers the letter, including those "mean" secretaries who often screen calls.

Differentiate.

My computer consultant has gotten a fair amount of free advertising from me with his invoice. Every invoice has a "Nice Guy Discount." It's a nice touch and makes me talk (for free) to others about his service.

Become a public figure.

Write articles, booklets and books. The word-of-mouth just around your office will be reward enough.

Why not answer a letter with an audio tape.

Why not consider printing your letters in a different font or set-up?

Go the extra mile.

My automobile repair shop always washes my car when I take it in for repairs. It's a nice touch and hey, guess what? I'm giving them some free advertising.

Give the personal touch.

Salespeople whom we work with each get a personal audio cassette response based on a Profile they fill out. The individual response puts what we do into a different category when it comes to sales training. Never let your customers feel like a number in a database.

(Gerry Robert is a speaker, weekly columnist and bestselling author of "Word of Mouth Advertising" (Wiley & Sons,1991) and "Conquering Life's Obstacles." You can get FREE Moneymaking Special Reports at his website)

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