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Contacting the Referred Prospect
You have many choices when it comes to contacting a referred prospect:
Phone Call from you: Very weak. The prospect doesn’t know you from Adam and has the opportunity to decide before you
can get your client’s name out that you’re just another tele-marketer and mentally cut you off. Your client’s name may be
enough to bring them back--or, it may not be.
E-mail from you: Even weaker. Many people will delete e-mails from people they don’t know. Even if they open it, people
tend to just briefly scan e-mails before deciding whether or not they are worth the trouble of reading.
E-mail from your client: Weak. Many people will ignore e-mails from friends and acquaintances if they are very busy--and
even if they read it, they tend to just quickly scan.
Letter from your client written by your client: Fair. Letters are taken more seriously and read more thoroughly than e-mails.
This is good. However, when clients write the letters, they tend to give little detail. Best yet so far.
Letter from your client written by you for your client’s signature: Good. Should the standard contact method for most
referrals. You can write the letter for your client, giving the detail a prospect needs in order to develop a positive impression.
Phone call from client to prospect while you’re with the client: Very Good. Allows you to “meet” the prospect in a
non-sales, non-threatening manner. Gives the prospect an opportunity to ask questions about what you’ve done for the client.
Very difficult for a prospect to decline a meeting when the client is on the line. Downside is you realistically have only one,
maybe two chances to reach the prospect. Don’t let client call the prospect if you’re not there.
Lunch meeting with you, the prospect and your client, set up by client: Excellent. Easy, non-threatening atmosphere.
Your client becomes your salesperson, you’re simply the expert advisor. Difficult to get your client to agree to do more than
one or, at most, two. Don’t waste your money on very weak prospects--unless it is a prospect that you really, really want.
Attending an event with your client and prospect, set up by your client: Excellent. Only for the best of best prospects.
The cost must be in line with the cost and value of your product/service.
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