That might seem a bit over the top, but if your clients love you, they'll keep coming back. They'll give you repeat business and refer their friends and acquaintances to you. They'll give you wonderful testimonials that you can use to boost your business. Working with them will feel more like "fun" than "work".
And it works the other way first… !
Have you ever heard of people talking about a doctor's "bedside manner"? A doctor with a great "bedside manner" is never short of patients! In fact, a doctor with a great "bedside manner" attracts more patients. This doctor, if he wants, can charge whatever price he chooses and he will never be short of clients!
Coaches are in a similar boat. If you're a sourpuss, or too serious and have no sense of humor, how do you think you'll compete with a loving, caring, warm, approachable Coach who has a great sense of humor and brings warmth into their client's lives?
Don't make the mistake of thinking you only have to hold the most qualifications to attract more or better clients and keep them. It doesn't work that way. People like feeling good. We might run our businesses with our heads, but it is our hearts that make us tick. We are creatures of emotion and even the most cold-hearted among us responds positively to kindness, warmth and compassion.
There is only one secret to attracting and keeping perfect clients… they have to like you. I've known people who are willing to pay MORE to a particular Coach for that very reason. You don't HAVE to be the smartest, most qualified Coach on the planet, and you don't HAVE to offer the cheapest fees – but you must be likable.
Being likable is a true business asset. You shouldn't believe that provided you do great coaching, that's all that matters and personalities don't come into it – it doesn't work that way. When you consider referrals (which can boost or kill your business) – what type of referrals do you want? Do you want your clients bad-mouthing you and telling people how terrible you are? No, of course not… this is why you must be likable!
Most coaches don't have this problem. We're trained to be "people" oriented, to build them up and make them feel good about themselves. However, as with any profession, there are some Coaches and Consultants whose "bedside manner", to borrow the expression, is cold and detached. Detaching yourself from outcomes is good, but just be careful about how you express this in your relationship with your clients. You don't want to form any barriers between yourself and your client. Remember, they are not buying a loaf of bread from you, they are paying you to help them have a great life… their coaching experience should be part of that experience.
A great marketing tip, and one that serves Coaches and consultants well, is remembering your clients birthdays and special events. You should have this information in your client records so you can send birthday cards, and for special clients, you can send small gifts. Remember them at special holiday times too.
If they have children who participate in special activities like sport or dancing, etc. You can inquire about them. You will impress your clients by (a) remembering and (b) that you cared enough to ask.
Being a "likable" Coach doesn't just stop with your clients. Word of mouth referrals also come by way of every business associate with whom you deal. If you're unpleasant to deal with, you will miss valuable joint venture opportunities and the referrals from other coaching and business associates. Some coaches forget this. Some have short tempers and sharp tongues in their dealings with those who are NOT their clients. It pays to remember that you are "selling yourself" every time you open your mouth or write an e-mail. How do you want others to talk about you? That is the question!
So, if you can be a great coach AND a likable coach, you will also be a popular coach and never be short of your ideal client!
My Goal Is YOUR Success!
Terri Levine, The Guru of Coaching sm
PresidentComprehensive Coaching U, Inc.
(877-401-6165) http://www.CoachInstitute.com
Create a great home based business coaching clients over the phone!Visit http://www.CoachInstitute.com today!
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Friday, August 03, 2007
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Referrals In A Hurry!
Everyone who knows me also knows I believe 100% in using referrals as a business building tool. It is the easiest and cheapest form of marketing – other people are doing your marketing for you!
There are added benefits to building your business using referral based marketing, apart from the obvious cost savings. You know yourself, when you ask your friends for advice and they refer you to a certain business or product, you trust their judgment and advice. It's the same with clients whose own friends referred you to them. You don't have to prove yourself to these new referrals… you've already proven yourself to their friend and in their eyes, you're already the expert.
So, how do you encourage existing clients, and past clients, to refer others to you? Well apart from simply asking them, there are other ways of building referrals – here are some tips:
1. I include a request for referrals at the bottom of my new client Welcome letters and on the bottom of each invoice – so there is a constant reminder and request for referrals.
2. Besides always including some small wording about referrals as above, you can do a special mailing in which you specifically ask for referrals from your current and past clients. You can consider a referral reward system. For every x number of referrals/clients who sign up, you can give a gift to the "referrer". Or for every new client referred to you by another client, you can reward your referrer with an Amazon gift certificate. People like to receive rewards. Another great time to ask your client(s) for referrals is when they compliment you and express excitement about some achievement they've accomplished thanks to you! That's your cue to tell them to let their friends know that if they also need this help, they know where to come!
3. If you have an office where clients attend, stick up a sign on the wall where clients will see it that says you appreciate their referrals. Make it large enough to read from a distance. Even if your client has never referred anybody to you, this will put the idea in their head!
4. Participate in joint referrals with associates whose business activity complements your own. If you refer YOUR clients to other people's businesses, there is a better chance that they will reciprocate and refer their clients to your business. You don't have to stick to businesses that are similar to your own – think about hairdressers, dry cleaners, travel agents, etc. You can do this with your clients as well. Promote them to people you know and they will be happy to refer people to you.
4. Leave your brochure and some business cards in a visible place (front desk) of businesses whose clientele might be interested in your services/products. Offer to do the same for the business where you leave your brochure/cards. (I also do this with "ad exchanges" – no money changes hands here – my business associates are happy to send out an ad of mine to their newsletter lists in exchange for me sending one of their ads to my list.)
5. If you don't have a formal referral reward system set up, do remember to send a special thank you card or small gift to the person who has referred a new client to you. If you are not appreciative of a referral and don't show your appreciation, you may not get a second one! Don't offer gift certificates to your own services or products – your referrers are more likely to appreciate it if you reward/thank them with other types of small gifts. In the past I have thanked my referrers with individualized gifts to suit them: an acrylic clock, a calculator, and a paperweight. However, you needn't spend a fortune on this – your clients will feel just as rewarded with an Amazon gift certificate, movie tickets – or even a box of chocolates!
For first referrals, I suggest a gift in the $5-10 price range. Choose something they can display in their office or home and if you can, inscribe it with something like "Deep thanks, Comprehensive Coaching U" (using your own company name, of course!)
When that person refers a second client to me, I follow the same format but this time, I send a slightly more expensive thank you gift – in the $15-20 range. (Notepad/calculators, emergency car kits, thermos, etc.)
Then, for each referral above this, I work in increments of 3. For each third referral, I bump the gift up. So, it might be lunch at their favorite restaurant, a weekend getaway, etc.
I don’t promote this program to my clients. I love to “WOW” them with the surprise gifts. I have found in about 9 months, this program really kicks in and referrals flow in. It is great fun for all, and I happily pay for a gift of dinner to have a new client.
6. Offer your clients and associates commissions on successful referrals – you can start an affiliate program. When you receive payment from referring other people's products or services, you don't mind making the referrals! You don't have to do this for every product or service, but you might like to pay a small commission on the first coaching session your new referred client receives.
7. Consider to do a free teleseminar and encourage your existing clients to attend and bring a friend! That gives you extra people who will be able to experience you without having been a client themselves, and who will talk about you to others. Offer them a gift for their attendance – perhaps a free e-book or special report. Give them an e-mail address where they can redeem their gift.
8. Another great way to build referrals is to do a promotional activity with a nonprofit organization. Find a charity organization that has a large member base – the types of members who would be most likely to use your services. You contact them and offer to do a special fund-raising activity. Maybe you can do a speaking engagement in which you split the profits 50/50 (and you can also sell back of the room products to increase your profit.) Or you can suggest if they would like to refer you to their members, you can offer their members a special discount and you will pay the organization a percentage of each member's fee. Sure, you don't make great heaps of money doing this, but it does showcase you to a whole new range of people – potential clients – potential referrers! And it's cheaper than taking out a full page ad!
My Goal Is YOUR Success!
Terri Levine, The Guru of Coaching SM
PresidentComprehensive Coaching U, Inc.
(877-401-6165) http://www.CoachInstitute.com
Create a great home based business coaching clients over the phone!Visit http://www.CoachInstitute.com today!
There are added benefits to building your business using referral based marketing, apart from the obvious cost savings. You know yourself, when you ask your friends for advice and they refer you to a certain business or product, you trust their judgment and advice. It's the same with clients whose own friends referred you to them. You don't have to prove yourself to these new referrals… you've already proven yourself to their friend and in their eyes, you're already the expert.
So, how do you encourage existing clients, and past clients, to refer others to you? Well apart from simply asking them, there are other ways of building referrals – here are some tips:
1. I include a request for referrals at the bottom of my new client Welcome letters and on the bottom of each invoice – so there is a constant reminder and request for referrals.
2. Besides always including some small wording about referrals as above, you can do a special mailing in which you specifically ask for referrals from your current and past clients. You can consider a referral reward system. For every x number of referrals/clients who sign up, you can give a gift to the "referrer". Or for every new client referred to you by another client, you can reward your referrer with an Amazon gift certificate. People like to receive rewards. Another great time to ask your client(s) for referrals is when they compliment you and express excitement about some achievement they've accomplished thanks to you! That's your cue to tell them to let their friends know that if they also need this help, they know where to come!
3. If you have an office where clients attend, stick up a sign on the wall where clients will see it that says you appreciate their referrals. Make it large enough to read from a distance. Even if your client has never referred anybody to you, this will put the idea in their head!
4. Participate in joint referrals with associates whose business activity complements your own. If you refer YOUR clients to other people's businesses, there is a better chance that they will reciprocate and refer their clients to your business. You don't have to stick to businesses that are similar to your own – think about hairdressers, dry cleaners, travel agents, etc. You can do this with your clients as well. Promote them to people you know and they will be happy to refer people to you.
4. Leave your brochure and some business cards in a visible place (front desk) of businesses whose clientele might be interested in your services/products. Offer to do the same for the business where you leave your brochure/cards. (I also do this with "ad exchanges" – no money changes hands here – my business associates are happy to send out an ad of mine to their newsletter lists in exchange for me sending one of their ads to my list.)
5. If you don't have a formal referral reward system set up, do remember to send a special thank you card or small gift to the person who has referred a new client to you. If you are not appreciative of a referral and don't show your appreciation, you may not get a second one! Don't offer gift certificates to your own services or products – your referrers are more likely to appreciate it if you reward/thank them with other types of small gifts. In the past I have thanked my referrers with individualized gifts to suit them: an acrylic clock, a calculator, and a paperweight. However, you needn't spend a fortune on this – your clients will feel just as rewarded with an Amazon gift certificate, movie tickets – or even a box of chocolates!
For first referrals, I suggest a gift in the $5-10 price range. Choose something they can display in their office or home and if you can, inscribe it with something like "Deep thanks, Comprehensive Coaching U" (using your own company name, of course!)
When that person refers a second client to me, I follow the same format but this time, I send a slightly more expensive thank you gift – in the $15-20 range. (Notepad/calculators, emergency car kits, thermos, etc.)
Then, for each referral above this, I work in increments of 3. For each third referral, I bump the gift up. So, it might be lunch at their favorite restaurant, a weekend getaway, etc.
I don’t promote this program to my clients. I love to “WOW” them with the surprise gifts. I have found in about 9 months, this program really kicks in and referrals flow in. It is great fun for all, and I happily pay for a gift of dinner to have a new client.
6. Offer your clients and associates commissions on successful referrals – you can start an affiliate program. When you receive payment from referring other people's products or services, you don't mind making the referrals! You don't have to do this for every product or service, but you might like to pay a small commission on the first coaching session your new referred client receives.
7. Consider to do a free teleseminar and encourage your existing clients to attend and bring a friend! That gives you extra people who will be able to experience you without having been a client themselves, and who will talk about you to others. Offer them a gift for their attendance – perhaps a free e-book or special report. Give them an e-mail address where they can redeem their gift.
8. Another great way to build referrals is to do a promotional activity with a nonprofit organization. Find a charity organization that has a large member base – the types of members who would be most likely to use your services. You contact them and offer to do a special fund-raising activity. Maybe you can do a speaking engagement in which you split the profits 50/50 (and you can also sell back of the room products to increase your profit.) Or you can suggest if they would like to refer you to their members, you can offer their members a special discount and you will pay the organization a percentage of each member's fee. Sure, you don't make great heaps of money doing this, but it does showcase you to a whole new range of people – potential clients – potential referrers! And it's cheaper than taking out a full page ad!
My Goal Is YOUR Success!
Terri Levine, The Guru of Coaching SM
PresidentComprehensive Coaching U, Inc.
(877-401-6165) http://www.CoachInstitute.com
Create a great home based business coaching clients over the phone!Visit http://www.CoachInstitute.com today!
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