Ask Correctly and You Shall Receive

How to Give a Good Infomercial that will  

get you Good Referrals

Do you want more referrals? Well Duh....of course you do.

Well then your job each week is to educate your sales team on how to find good referrals for you....NOT sell to them.     

From August 2013

So here are some key points to remember on how to do just that.

"Being specific is terrific"

• Have a laser focus that educates members about your products and services.
• Develop a curriculum for each week's meeting - and do it weeks or months in advance. Seriously, you need to take a week-by-week approach to what you are going to teach in your infomercial so that your members can remember important information so they can refer you effectively.
• Create that active learning environment predicated on training your referral sources i.e. your sales team.
• Teach others who to refer to you or how to refer you to others. The more specific the presentation you do, the better. The really differentiating qualities that could lead to closed business
• Give examples of past TYFCB and why it was a good referral
• Tell stories of work you have done for your best clients
• Use visual aids (See the example below)

The key to getting referrals is to educate people how to refer you - and make sure they remember what you have taught them.    

For Example:

Dr. Misner says this is The best 60-second commercial he has ever seen done. It was by a florist in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

This florist stood up when it was his turn, and reached under the table, pulling out a single rose. The rose was maybe 8-12" long, kind of small but in good shape. It had cellophane around it and a grocery store sticker on it. He held up the rose and said, "What do you guys think of this rose?"

Everybody looked at it, and they knew it came from a grocery store, but nobody would say anything because it looked really good. He said, "It's okay. You can be honest. This is a pretty good looking rose, isn't it? I bought it at the Winn Dixie grocery store right next door. They do a pretty nice job on their roses."

Then he said, "Let me show you my rose."

He reached under the table again, and he pulled out another rose. I swear, this thing had to be 18" to two feet long. It was gigantic - two or three times the size of the flower from the grocery store. He held them both up by the bottom.

He said, "Here's a grocery store rose. Here's my rose. They're basically only three cents different in price....and mine's cheaper."

That was so powerful. I am pretty sure that almost everybody in that room was thinking, I'm an idiot if I buy roses at the grocery store. Not only am I getting a higher perceived value, but his will cost me less.

To me, this was probably one of the best examples of a 60-second introduction that I have ever heard in my life, because he was truly training a sales force. He was being laser-specific. He spent that presentation strictly talking about a rose. I could see him at his floral shop behind the scenes, training an employee on the difference between grocery store roses and their floral shop roses.

Why was this presentation so good?

• He led with value.
• He trained a sales force.
• He was extremely specific.
• It was memorable.

Educate people about your products and services. You'll receive better results from your fellow members, if you Give them something they can really envision and remember when they find themselves in a position to talk about your business to other people.

In appreciation,

Annette

Weekly Presentation AKA Infomercial

From July 2013 - Want to get Great Referrals?  It all starts with your Weekly presentation aka Infomercial.  This is your time to let your Sales Team know exactly who/what  your perfect referral would be.  Breaking it  down to LCDs (Lowest Common Denominator) is a simple easy way to convey your message.

Lowest Common Denominators (LCDs)

By breaking your product or service down to its most basic form,  

or Lowest Common Denominator (LCD), you will be able to  

effectively describe what you do. This is done to communicate  

to your Chapter members what are good referrals for you.  Keep it simple.  Do not use technical jargon or industry acronyms.  Explain in terms a 5th grader would understand.

A Good Weekly Presentation consists of 5 Key Elements

1. Introduction - Your Name, Your Company Name, Your Industry (What you do)

2.Your Products and/or Services - Briefly describe ONE of the products/services you offer each week.  BNI calls this your LCD or Lowest Common Denominator.  Break down your service or product into its most basic form LCD.). 

3. What Your Products/ Servies Do - (Benefit)  What will your product or service do for the referral you're looking for?  Why do they buy this from you?  What you really want to describe here is the benefit of your product/service.  Telling a brief is often very helpful.

4. Ask for the Referral - The referral/introduction I'm looking for today is..."  What to look for (WTLF); be extra-specific.  Tell your sales team what action to take for you.  Give them a 'conversation starter," i.e. What to say for you.  The idea here is to be as specific as possible.  Ask for the specific contact or an introduction to a company you are trying to meet.

5. Close - Your Name, Your Company, and a Memory Hook (aka Tag Line).

You can use props that you can show to make a strong impression.  The more things people  

can see, hear, feel, etc. the more likely they are to remember your message. 

Be memorable,

Annette