Building your business and generating sales requires cold calling, yet most sales professionals generally hate cold calling. How to you build a successful sales team quickly and keep your team from pulling their hair out? You build it with relationship marketing, a solid network of referrals, and by positioning yourself as an expert.

 

1. Relationship Marketing

Being involved in the community and also creating a 10 second “elevator pitch” for what you do and how you help people is crucial! Keep it simple and stupid. More importantly, listen to what the other person is saying about themselves 90% of the time. They will tell you everything you need. My friend, Craig Valentine, encourages you to disqualify potential prospects at networking events rather than trying to qualify them.

2. Growing Your Referral Business

Change the word “Referral” to “Introduction” and watch your prospect’s barriers crumble. “John, I’ve really enjoyed helping you and your wife with your mortgage. Who could you introduce me to that would also enjoy the same quality and service that you’ve grown to love?” is a great question to ask.

If you are not asking for referrals every time, even from people who don’t purchase your product or service, you are leaving money on the table! I go into greater detail in a previous post titled, Referral Roulette: You Can’t Afford Not to Play!

3. Become an Expert

No one has to knight you as an expert in your industry. Proper positioning as a solution to your target market’s problems will be extremely lucrative to you and your business.

Create special reports, write articles, and blog about relevant subjects, and you will build up your expertise momentum. If you are stuck, read this article.

What are some of your success strategies for building your business?