Business Owners & Independent Professionals

I’ve found a system that…

…will generate more referrals than you can handle!

…is cost-effective.

…requires very little time investment to use.

Every small business owner and service professional knows that referrals are the best way to get customers. Referrals are ready to do business with you because someone they trust referred them. Referrals bring the biggest return over other traditional marketing methods, such as advertising or direct mail.

From my own experience and conversations with other small business owners, I know that getting people to refer you business can be difficult. Most business owners don’t like to ask for referrals.  Most satisfied customers would be happy to make referrals, but frankly, they forget about you after their work with you has been completed. It’s just not on the top of their minds refer business to you.

A Sad But True Story

One of my clients whom I coach (a small business owner I'll call Julie) recently told me a sad story.

Several years ago Julie did some work with a client. The client was very happy with her work. Julie described this client to me as "one of my all-time favorite clients I've ever worked with." An added bonus -- they only lived two miles apart from each other. So working together was not only enjoyable, but convenient! After their work together was completed, Julie sent her client a note of thanks for her business, letting her know how much she enjoyed working with her. The client sent a note of appreciation back to Julie, expressing how grateful she was for the excellent service she had received. After that, they lost contact with each other.

Julie recently ran into her former "all-time favorite client" at the grocery store, and they struck up a conversation. Julie was heartbroken to learn that her client recently needed some additional work done and had hired a competitor to fill her needs. She had also recently referred several of her friends to the other service professional, because she assumed that Julie had either left the area or was no longer taking new clients. Her former client's parting words: "You are SO good at what you do...I wish I had known you were taking new clients, as I would have hired you again in a heartbeat, and I would have referred all my friends to you, too."

Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. I have heard similar stories from others. And I have been known to forget about a great service provider myself, only to remember them after I sought assistance from a competitor whom I did not like as much. As they say...out of sight, out of mind!

People do business with people they know, like, and trust...

AND REMEMBER!

How to Get More Referrals

Over the past 11 years as a productivity consultant and small business and coach, I’ve been exposed to numerous referral programs.  I’ve worked with independent professionals such as physicians, attorneys, CPAs, insurance agents, mortgage brokers, realtors, and consultants. I’ve also worked with many small business owners and entrepreneurs.

After all my years of helping businesses get more referrals I’ve concluded that the number one method to getting more referrals is to simply develop a very close and personal relationship with your customers or clients through regular contact, so that when the time is right, they will remember you for their own needs and will also refer their friends, relatives and colleagues who need your products or services.

The very best way I’ve found to keep in personal touch is by sending greeting cards.   I'm not the only one who has discovered this. 

A little-known secret from the most successful referral marketer of all time . . .

Have you ever heard of Joe Girard? Joe Girard was honored by the Guinness Book of World Records for selling more cars than any single person in history, 12 times achieving the top vehicle sales in the world. In his best year he sold 1425 units, all retail (no fleet sales). Click here to learn more about Joe.

His secret weapon? Greeting cards.

Employing two assistants out of his own pocket, “Joe sent out nearly 13,000 greeting cards a month to his customers, celebrating everything from Halloween to Groundhog Day,” according to the Detroit News.  Joe Girard proved, without doubt, that greeting cards inspire customer loyalty. Joe proved that greeting cards motivate customers to refer their friends.

Of course, it was not the paper or colorful ink that did the trick. It was a man who cared enough to recognize and honor his customers’ birthdays, anniversaries and holidays. The simple act of sending greeting cards aroused a sense of loyalty in his clients. And when they or someone they knew needed a new car, he was always the person they sought out.

Greeting cards are the ultimate business tools in three critical areas:
1. Converting new business contacts into active clients, customers or patients.
2. Transforming casual customers into loyal customers.
3. Making sure that your best customers remain your best customers.

How about this concept? Any photo on your computer can be uploaded in about 60 seconds. What if you were to print the image inside the card -- in bright vibrant color -- right next to your handwritten message!

Greeting cards can be used to keep loyal clients & generate referrals!

Picture these possibilities:

• Scene #1: You are a real estate agent. You take a digital photo of your clients standing in front of their new house. You suggest, “Why don’t we send this picture to 10 of your closest friends?”

• Scene #2: You are a sales professional. You take a digital photo of your customers standing in front of their new car, or their new boat or their new recreational vehicle. You ask them — “Would you like me to send this picture to a few members of your family?”

Here is the really fun part! Check back with your customers in about 10 days. This is what you will discover:

• Most of your customers’ friends and family have called to offer their congratulations.
• Your customers are overflowing with enthusiasm about a simple photograph that you sent as part of a greeting card.
• They think you are the greatest. (Consider the future referrals this will generate for you.)
• You, in turn, contact their friends and relatives (who are now turbo-charged referrals.)

The potential is limited only by your imagination:

• A picture of you shaking hands with your clients at your office, printed inside your personal “thank you” card that says, “I appreciate your business.”
• A picture of you and a new business contact at a luncheon or business event, printed inside your personal “I’m so happy to have met you!” card.
• A picture of your vacation in Maui, uploaded from the hotel computer (in Maui) — “Wish you were here.”

Armed only with a digital camera, a shrewd businessperson will revitalize his or her bottom line by utilizing greeting cards correctly.

What stops people from sending greeting cards?

• It’s inconvenient and time-consuming to drive to the card shop to pick out the right card.  If you buy cards ahead of time, the cards you have in stock are often not “quite right” for the person you want to send it to.  Once you’ve bought it, you have to carve out the time to find the address, address the envelope, find a stamp, and write a message in the card.
• They’re expensive.  In most cases, cards are $3-5 each these days, plus the postage and the cost of gas to get to the card shop and the post office.
• We forget.  We may have written down birthdays or other important occasions to remember, but then we forget to send the card at the right time.

The recent mind-blowing tool I discovered...
Last fall, I received a greeting card from a friend. It was a thank you card expressing gratitude for my friendship. It caught my attention because -- although she was very good about expressing gratitude verbally and via email -- this was the first greeting card I had ever received from her in my mailbox.

I called my friend and thanked her for taking time to send me a handwritten card. As it turns out, the card was sent using a new online system, which has the ability to convert a typed message into one using your actual handwriting. The system then addressed the envelope, put a real stamp on it, and sent it to me on my friend’s behalf, all for about a dollar. I was shocked to learn that, although the card LOOKED like my friend had handwritten and signed the message in her card, she never actually touched the card. It was all created online.

My friend gave me a tour of the system.  When I saw what it did, I got so excited I hardly slept for a week.  Joe Girard would have given his right arm for this system when he was selling cars! I began to see the possibilities for myself and for others, using this same system s to create a highly personalized message while automating the process.

Use this system

to get all the referrals you can handle!

Have you ever wanted to send a card to someone but forget to do it or you simply didn’t have time to do it?

Have you ever wanted to send a series of follow up notes to a business prospect or customer, but didn’t have a system to keep track of who and when to send it to?

Our system solves these problems...
When I meet someone at an event or when someone conducts business with me, I make a point of getting the person’s mailing address and sometimes even their birth date. I then put that information into the reminder system.  A week before their birthday, the system reminds me to send a birthday card to them.

Next, I pick out an appropriate greeting card (there are over 12,000 greeting cards to choose from), write a short note to the person, and then I click a button and it gets mailed on whatever date I want it to go out.

For those prospects, clients and referral partners you want to stay in touch with regularly, you can send a card a month with one single click of a mouse. 

Here's how it works...you can choose from the 12,0000+ cards provided, or you can custom design your own cards for less than a dollar using one of our many incredible features.  Then you set up a multiple-piece mailing campaign using a combination of thank you cards, holiday cards, cards sharing suggestions or tips that showcase your expertise, invitations to a public workshop or teleclass you are offering, requests for referrals – anything to keep your name in front of them each month. 

Every time someone purchases your products or services, enter their name into the system and send your campaign cards with the single click of a mouse. It’s that simple!  The campaign system mail merges the name into the salutation and includes your personal note (printed with your own handwriting and signature), then addresses, stuffs, licks, stamps (with a real stamp) and takes it to the post office on the date you have specified. Over the coming months, your customer will receive hand-written, personalized cards from you without you lifting a finger!

What is a return customer or a referral worth to you?

If you were to send a monthly campaign, this entire 12-month campaign will only cost you $12 to stay in touch with them for the next year, without lifting a finger. Or if you sent cards quarterly, it would only cost you $4. You determine how often you wish to keep in touch, and we do the rest!

Studies have shown that in most industries, sales are made after 7 contacts with your prospect. Yet, the vast majority of businesses have NO follow-up system in place. Furthermore, once you attract a new customer, they can easily go elsewhere if they don't feel like you care about their business or if they just forget about you. Historically, follow-up has been expensive and time-consuming…until now!

If you can enter a name and address and push a button, you can launch a personalized relationship-building program with your prospects and customers. Imagine how this system could set you apart from every one else trying to get your prospects’ attention!  With just the click of a mouse, you can send a series of personally customized postcards or greeting cards to your prospects and customers without ever touching a single card. It’s incredible!

Building on that “know-like-trust” factor is essential to attracting customers.  The number one reason people give for buying something is that they liked the sales person. What better way to establish a powerful relationship of admiration, appreciation and trust than with a sequence of sincere greeting cards!

Click here to learn why I became a distributor of this amazing tool.