Say you’ve attended a conference, event or trade show and you’ve just finished meeting some nice people that may be prime candidates for business referrals. And you did this while not hitting anybody over the head with your sales pitch regarding your products and services. Instead, you focused on them, asked questions that made them feel good about themselves and introduced them to other people that you’ve met.  

 

Through this low-key and unassuming approach, you positioned yourself as a “center-of-influence.” You established a great start to a relationship with your prospects. You’ve met several people that you feel you can work with in the future and present them with the opportunity to do business with your down the road or refer you to others.  

 

Now, you can focus on the follow up.  

 

 

You want to send a thank you note to every prospect that you wish to take to the next step. Be sure that you hand-write this note on an 8 ½ x 3 ½ note card, which will fit nicely inside a #10 envelope. This should have some brief contact information as well as a small, professional picture of yourself and perhaps a very brief benefit statement across the very bottom.  

 

Remember that this is not a direct response piece but simply a thank you note. Don’t use a postcard!  

This note should be either written in blue or black ink, and read, “Hi [person’s name], it was a pleasure meeting you. If I can ever refer business your way, I certainly will.” After which, you sign your name. However, don’t include your business card or make any reference to what you do.  

 

Enclose a Photo

You may deem it unnecessary not including a photograph of you with the note card; however, remember the saying, “out of sight, out of mind.” Let’s face it; regardless of how quickly you elicited their good feelings toward you, the minute the conversation is over, they leave to their own challenges, meet other people, handle different situations, etc.  

 

You want to give them every opportunity to remember you as the person that made them feel good about themselves both by the questions that you asked them as well as introducing them to others. Therefore, a small, class and professional photograph will go a long way toward this person feeling very comfortable with you when you decide to approach them to see the business when you choose.  

Don’t Do E-mail

No matter how easy it may be, don’t send an e-mail note! If you want to make an impression and separate yourself from the masses, write a personal note by hand – paper and ink. This has always set the top producers apart. Even more so now that e-mail has taken such a strong hold of our mode of communications. Only once rapport as been established after a few correspondence should you follow up with future notes via e-mail when appropriate.             

 

Remember nothing can compare to the emotional feeling that someone will have when receiving a personal, hand-written note of thanks from someone that they just met. And when yo do it on the setup suggested, it is even that much more effective.  

 

Notes of Interests

Another good measure to do is send your new referral notes of any relevant interest such as regarding their hobbies, sports, charitable causes, etc. Whenever possible, refer business to this person. If the person’s not in business, gear your help in whatever way is appropriate. One person received a key piece of business with several referrals afterwards because they helped a prospect’s daughter find a job in her chose field who had recently graduated college.  

 

Showing your awareness of your referrals and their interests will help them remember you with good feelings; especially, when you decide you’re ready to invite them to learn about your product or service.  

 

Now that you’ve sent the note card, it’s time to make the first call. Remember, there is no pressure. You are now consistently meeting and building relationships with many people that are qualified referrals. If the person isn’t interested, no problem. You say “Next,” and move on; however, the chances are that after what you’ve done so far, the person will be at very least be happy to meet with you. Even if they’re not a buyer, they’ll still be happy to refer you to others.  

 

With your list growing larger, you will develop a much better emotional posture when you know that the success of your business is not dependent upon any one person being interested. You care about getting the business of one person, but there are many others that you can speak to if that one falls through. Therefore, it’s about showing that it’s not a big deal if the prospect says yes or no.  What’s interesting is that when the prospect realizes that you don’t really care all that much, suddenly, he or she is much more interested.    

 

Keep in mind that the larger your lists becomes, the less time that you’ll want to take to go through all the steps (meeting, thank you notes, notes of interest, etc) from when you initially meet your prospects to when you invite them to look at your business. That’s completely up to you. The ultimate goal is to have so many people being referred to you that you’ll need to do less and less prospecting as you move forward.