Over the past year or so, I’ve been doing more podcasts and interviews and have been part of some juicy conversations. One of my favorite topics? Relationship-based sales. After all, it’s what I do!
I’m often asked what the secret is – and honestly, it’s pretty straightforward. It’s all about creating organic, genuine connections and making sure you’re consistently nurturing those relationships. In the final episode of our Spring Cleaning series, I encourage you to take some time to examine your professional relationships to make sure you’re targeting the right prospects and setting yourself up for success.
Three Key Takeaways
1. Clean up your email list If you’re like many of my clients, e-mail marketing and sales is a key touchpoint between you and your clients and potential clients. With a quality list of curated contacts, there’s guaranteed money to be made in your email list. But I’ve also seen plenty of cases where clients put more emphasis on the length of their list than the quality of their list. Go back through your CRM or email marketing system once per quarter and remove the people from your list who aren’t engaging with you. While it might be painful to remove hard-earned contacts, remember that those who aren’t regularly interacting with your content aren’t likely to become clients, anyway.
2. Create a list of allies. While not a spring-cleaning activity per se, going through your contact list is the perfect time to filter out a separate list of professional allies. Allies are exactly what they sound like: those contacts who would be willing to help support your business by sharing content or promotions. When it comes to your allies, don’t just reach out when you need something. Instead, be intentional about nurturing those relationships and reaching out regularly to simply connect with no strings attached.
3. Build a referral system. Referrals are often looked down upon as the black sheep of client acquisition, but they can be an excellent way to identify prospects who would be a great fit for your services. Referrals don’t have to be the end all be all for your business, but you’re likely leaving clients on the table if you’re not regularly asking for them. As with any client or ally interaction, asking for referrals should always take a natural, relationship-based process.
Additional Resources
Believe in the power of relationship-based sales but don’t know where to start? Register for Tighten Up Your Sales Game, a virtual training session designed to help you achieve more-than-enough revenue month after month through relationship-based sales.
