Advertisement
Forward on Reverse: Understanding Reverse-Speak, Part One
Cold Calling For Dummies--The ConclusionDave HershmanCold calling, financial planners,
In this article, I will delve into two potentially lucrative
areas for mining referral gold: professionals and vendors. If you
open your eyes a bit wider, you will find that the gold is closer
than you could have ever envisioned.
Professionals
Although this category is somewhat broad, it is generally
comprised of the professionals with whom we come into contact in
our everyday lives, such as doctors, lawyers, CPAs and financial
planners. There are several reasons why professionals can represent
a very lucrative aspect of our marketing plan:
++Professionals may represent an important target for many
within sales. They earn more money than any other target group. As
such, selling to those in higher income brackets means increased
profits for you.
++Unless they work for corporations or the government,
professionals serve the public. Therefore, they have more access to
potential customers, and if you grant them access to your customer
base, a reciprocal relationship may be very beneficial. Imagine
joint mailings from CPAs and Mortgage Brokers or real estate
professionals to their respective customer lists. The real estate
list would be fertile ground before tax season or immediately
following the purchase of a home. The accountant's list would be
fertile ground after the checks to the IRS are mailed.
++Professionals know other professionals. Obviously, accountants
know many other accountants. A close relationship with a particular
professional can lead to relationships with many more.
It is important to note that many segments of the sphere of
influence will be related to others. Just as a customer list may be
of interest to a professional, previous customers may also lead to
professionals. If someone is purchasing a home, why not ask the
advice of his or her financial planner?
Vendors
Those unavoidable salespeople may be one of the best sources of
gold. Vendors may be divided into two categories:
++Vendors who call upon professionals: Instead of brushing off
salespeople, use the fact that they can be especially willing to
please, especially those from whom purchases are made. Remember
that each of these vendors is in the business of knowing many
business people, and networking is a vital part of the job.
++Vendors who call upon the targets of professionals: Not actual
competitors, these are individuals who call upon targets and sell a
non-competing product. Setting up synergy partnerships with these
people may be very lucrative. A reach for contacts may be doubled
without devoting twice as much time and money.
The cycle could go on forever, but hopefully I have made my
point. If you cannot find enough calls to make within the discussed
categories, go ahead and cold-call. On the other hand, when you can
reach deep into the sphere of influence, you'll find so many
choices that cold-calling should never become an option.
Dave Hershman is a leading author and top speaker for the
mortgage industry with six books, including two best sellers for
the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. His newsletters are
used by Mortgage Brokers to provide value to previous customers,
financial planners, real estate agents and more. He may be reached
at (800) 581-5678 or visit www.hershmangroup.com.
About the author