CHAMPION CHAT
Joseph Walsh
Sales Coaching, Training and Consulting for the Voluntary Benefits Industry| Keynote Speaker| Building Sales Culture| Certified Maxwell Leadership Coach, Speaker and Trainer|Referral Generation and Prospecting Coach
Happy Thursday Voluntary Benefit Champions!
This week we are all about getting referrals. Most agents and managers have difficulty obtaining referrals. Now there are a few reasons for this:
Well the coaching module I have put in today's newsletter can help. What if you regularly met with clients and put names in front of them that you want to get referred to? This is what I did for 27 of the 33 years I spent in the insurance industry. This combined with niche marketing and networking made it so I never had to cold call or do walk-ins. Below are three ways to generate referrals but the last one I show is by far the best one and the most effective.
In this edition you get everything you need except a visual of how to do this, so if you want to learn further I am offering a no cost complimentary coaching session to go through this module with you or your team. To set this up you can either email me at ChampionCoachJoe@gmail.com or click on the Calendly link below and meet for me at no cost for 30 minutes on zoom. Simply use this link:
Now here is the coaching module. Read it, learn the scripts and use them because this system works!
CREATING A REFERRAL CULTURE
Discussion Questions
• Do you ask for a referral after every meeting?
• Do you have referral partners?
• Who else does business with your soulmate client?
• Do you get referrals across varying circles of influence?
• What objections do you run into when asking for referrals?
• What is your weekly referral goal? Key Concepts
• ABC Always Be Closing For Referrals
• Remember to “Give to get.”
• Paint the picture and isolate faces when asking for a referral.
• Remember the “Golden Keys” and use random information when approaching referrals.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO FAIL
The #1 reason people do not get referrals is because they do not ask:
DON’T BE AFRAID TO FAIL.
” You’ve failed many times, although you may not remember. You fell down the first time you tried to walk. You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim, didn’t you? Did you hit the ball the first time you swung a bat? Heavy hitters, the ones who hit the most home runs, also strike out a lot.
R.H. Macy failed seven times before his store In New York caught on.
English novelist, John Creasey, got 753 rejection slips before he published 564 books.
Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times, but he also hit 714 home runs.
Worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try!
DOUBLE YOUR REFERRALS
If you are in a sales or prospecting slump, chances are it’s not because you’re bad at your job or that you’re working for the wrong company or that there is some problem with your product or the area you’re working.... On the contrary, we at Champion Coaching And Training believe that it is because you don’t obtain enough referred leads. Nothing gets rid of call reluctance and turns around sales momentum like gathering a plethora of referred leads. But if you don’t have them, it’s probably because you either have a fear of asking or because there are some logistical mistakes you are making when you do ask.
In this module, we will cover the fundamentals of getting referrals.
THE 6 STEP POST-SALE REFERRAL PROCESS
STEP 1: TRANSITION STATEMENT
(Thank them and build the person up)
You: Thank you for allowing me to assist your employees in protecting themselves and their families. I wish that I had 10 more clients who value the welfare of their workforce just like you. (Transition) You: Perhaps you can help me in another way.
STEP 2: CLEARLY ASK FOR A REFERRAL
(without using the word referral) (Relate with them)
You: Like you, I prefer to work with business owners who know one another. I’m looking to be introduced to business owners who might share similar values and beliefs as you. Create a buying atmosphere)
You: Based on who you are and the fellow business owners you know, who would be a good person for me to talk to? My goal is to speak with every business owner who wants to aid their employees in protecting themselves and their families using voluntary benefits. A business owner who needs to know about who we are and what we do. If they decide to work with us, great, and if not, that's okay too.
STEP 3: PAINT THE PICTURE
(Put them in your shoes and tell them specifically who you’re looking for)
You: If you were me and you wanted to work with employers who value offering employees the ability to protect themselves and their families in the event of a catastrophic health situation or their premature death, who would you go see?
STEP 4: WRITE DOWN THE REFERRAL
(Break eye contact, look at your referral pad/book and don’t speak until they give you a name.)
STEP 5: ASK “WHO ELSE”
(Do not get pre-approach information immediately. Thank them for giving you a referral, them ask “Who else?”)
You: Thank you so much. This is how I prefer to do business, and this helps a great deal! Who else might be a good fit to talk to?
STEP 6: GET PRE-APPROACH
You: What time are they generally available? When you call them, what number do you use? .What kind of decision maker are they? Tell me about ______. What kind of person they are? What do you like and respect most about them? Are they straight to the point, detailed, or extroverted?
CELL PHONE REFERRAL SCRIPT
Step 1:
THANK & COMPLIMENT
You: “Lynn, thank you so much for working with me. You and your team are so much fun to work with! I wish I had 10 clients just like you!”
Step 2:
Reiterate your 100% CUSTOMER SERVICE COMMITMENT:
You: “Now Lynn, as you know, here at (company name), customer service is very important to us.”
Step 3:
BRING OUT CELL PHONE:
You: "And with that said, is that your cell phone right there?”
Let them answer.
Step 4:
ENTER MY NUMBER:
You: "What I would like you to do is to take out your cell phone, and program my number into your contacts so you can always have 24/7 access to me. My number is xxx, xxx, xxxx.” And have them plug it into their cell phone.
Step 5:
BUSINESS W/ FRIENDS:
You: "Now Lynn, I don’t know if you know, I personally prefer to do business with like-minded business owners.” BASED ON WHO YOU ARE “So, I’m just curious, based on who you are Lynn WHO IN PHONE? “Who in the contacts in your cell phone would be open minded and interested in expanding their company benefits at no cost to their business?”
LINKEDIN REFERRALS
A REFERRAL GENERATION SYSTEM THAT ANYONE CAN USE
Cold Calling and conducting Cold Walk-Ins are how most agents start out prospecting. It can be effective, but time consuming. That’s why at Champion Coaching And Training we designed a referral generation system that any agent can use at any point in their career. I recommend that you use this system in conjunction with cold prospecting and another source or two. The premise behind The Rapid Referral Generation System is that you write down the names of 100 people you know using the acronym F.R.A.N.K. (which will be explained in greater detail in the next section), then you send out a LinkedIn invite to everyone on the list. As the invitations get accepted, you will surf their connections looking for people who are:
• Business Owners
• Human Resource Personnel
• CEO’s
• CFO’s
• VP’s
• Key officers in a company
These are names that you will feed to the person you are asking for referrals. By feeding them names you increase your chances of success. I encourage you to give this system a try for 30-60 days because it will take some time to get it up and running.
RAPID REFERRAL GENERATION SYSTEM
Lead Generation and Prospecting Referrals
• This is your goal – build a business on referred leads.
• Hot 100 = 300
o Turn 100 friends, associates, and former clients (old gig) into 300 referred leads.
o Centers of Influence
▪ Develop 5 who give you 50 plus referrals annually. LinkedIn Searches
• Identify your soulmate client. o Look for similar people.
o Build your network for quality not quantity.
Let’s Get Started:
Get out your cell phone, contacts, Facebook friends list, LinkedIn contacts and start looking for F.R.A.N.K. to complete you Referral 100
• F = Friends
o Your Friends and/or Spouse’s Friends
Recommended by LinkedIn
• R= Relatives
o Your Relatives and/or Spouse’s Relatives
• A = Associates (people who know you from associations you belong to)
o Rotary Club
o Fraternity/Sorority
o Sports Teams
o Church and Social Organization you belong to at Church.
o Community Organizations
▪ Lions Club, Kiwanis, Optimist Club
▪ Executive Guild, Local Chamber of Commerce
• N = Neighbors
o Current/Previous Neighbors
o People you grew up with
• K = Kids Connections/Coworkers
o Kids school connections
o People you know through kids’ activities.
• Create an Excel spreadsheet with name, phone and connection information (Golden Key)
• If they have LinkedIn, Facebook, and other group websites (Organizations your potential Center of Influence belongs to – Church, Business Groups, Social Organizations). You are looking for the following:
o Human Resource Personnel o Business Owners
o Controllers
RAPID REFERRAL GENERATION SYSTEM
Hot 100 Scripts:
Use script word for word. DON’T Deviate!
You: Hey (Friends Name)! Hey (friends name). It’s (Your Name)! I’ve been thinking about you lately and I hope you’re doing well. I want to catch up and that’s part of the reason for my call today, but I also wanted to ask for your professional help. Did I catch you at a good time? (Pause)
(If new to Organization) – I recently started working with an outstanding organization, (Company). I’m working with them as a Voluntary Benefits Consultant helping small to midsize companies offer big company benefits, without increasing benefit costs. (Pause and wait for response)
(If Veteran to Organization) – As you know, I’ve been working with an outstanding organization, (Company), for quite some time. In the time I’ve been here I’ve become a Voluntary Benefits Consultant helping small to midsize companies offer big company benefits without increasing benefit costs.
(Pause and wait for a response) With (Company), I will be calling on business owners, and human resource professionals to offer them a comprehensive and complimentary benefits review. The (Company) team is a nationwide leader in voluntary benefits. The products are outstanding! Since I will be calling on people to offer them a complimentary benefits review, I wanted to see who you could think of who is in human resources or owns a small to midsize company.
Potential Referrer: (If they Answer): Well, I own a company!
You: Wow that’s great to hear and I’ll be glad to tell you more about these opportunities in a minute, (Friends Name) who else can you think of who owns a company or is in human resources?
Potential Referrer: (If they answer) Gee (your name) I really can’t think of anyone, but I want to help. How about I give it some thought and get back to you? (If they have LinkedIn and/or Facebook, you say)
You: Thanks (friends name) for being willing to help. I totally understand. I was looking at your (say social media platform) and I see you’re connected with some people in human resources and small business owners who would be perfect to talk with. Tell me do you know (name of contact with name of company or name of contact with name of company)? (Write down the name and ask about next contact).
IF THEY GIVE YOU NO REFERRED LEADS:
You: I appreciate you brainstorming with me and if anyone comes to mind in the future, please let me know.
IF THEY GIVE YOU A REFERRAL:
(Once they give you that first referral, thank them for it, write that name down and say)
You: Thank you. This helps so much, who else? (Then shut up)
(Next gather info on referrals and secure pre approach)
You: Thank you so much (friends name). Tell me how do you know (name of referral)? What is something you really like or respect about them? (This is your golden Key) If you were to call them what phone number would you use? Do you have it in your cell so that you can just shoot their contact card over to me? Just out of curiosity, what type of decision maker do you think (name of referral) is? Are they short and sweet and to the point, more laidback, a lot of fun or all about the numbers/details? (Note personality type so you’re prepared to speak to them). (After gathering ALL the info, you need)
You: Thank you. What other friends have been doing is taking a minute to give their friends a heads up that I will be calling. Do you think you’ll be able to reach out to them later today or tomorrow?
Referral Email and Text Template:
Send this to your friend so they can use it.
Subject: Introduction
Hi (name), I recently gave your contact information to (Your Full Name). He/She is a Voluntary Benefits Consultant working with ( your carrier), a company that helps small and midsize companies offer big company benefits. The best thing about this is they can do this at no direct cost to your company. I believe that a visit with (Your first name) is at a minimum educational and interesting.
Referral Phone Approach Script:
Opening (Objective: Get them open to a conversation)
You: Hi is this (Prospects Name)? (Pause) Hey (Prospect’s first name), this is (your name) (Pause – Smile!). If you’re trying to put a face to the name, it may not work because we haven’t had the opportunity to meet yet. (Pause). (Referrer’s Name) suggested I connect with you. He/she said the nicest things about you. (Share Golden Key). Did I miss anything? Tell me how do you know (referrer’s name)? (Once referral answers you say)
You: How I know (referrer’s name) is (either tell story about how you know them or tell them if they are a client). So, just to make sure, are you the person who makes decisions on employee benefits or does someone else have that fun job? (After Referral answers you say)
You: Well, _______, I work with (Company). I’m calling you today to talk about how your company can offer Big Company Benefits to your employees at no additional cost to your company. At (Company) we offer voluntary benefits to help small to midsize companies offer additional benefits using payroll deduction to pay for these programs. These are programs many of your employees need and want, but often don’t know how to get them. We offer these valuable benefits to your employees, and they can purchase them via payroll deduction. Typically, 60% of employees participate in these programs. I wanted to stop by and sit down with you for 25 minutes and show you how these programs work. Would (day and time) or (day and time) be better for you?
This same system can be used with new and existing clients who are business owners. See the script below.
Every prospect who is a business owner and every new group should equal a new LinkedIn connection. Once the owner accepts your connection request, you look over his/her LinkedIn connections looking for:
1. Other business owners
2. Company officers
3. Controllers
4. HR personnel
The Approach Script:
Use script word for word. DON’T Deviate!
You: Thank you for allowing me to assist your employees in protecting themselves and their families. I wish that I had more clients who value the welfare of their workforce just like you. Are you and your employees happy with our products and service? (After owner answers you say)
You: (Business owner’s name), I don’t know if you realize this, I personally prefer to do business with like-minded business owners. The companies I work with are owned by someone just like you, an owner who cares about his/her workforce and wants to ensure that the employees have access to protection that is there in the event that they or their family have catastrophic health event, or the employee passes away. With that in mind, who do you know that would value voluntary benefits being offered in their company as well as their employees would benefit from working with me?
(There are two possible outcomes If the owner gives you a name, you say the following. If not skip down below)
You: Thank you this really helps. Who else would be a good fit for me to talk to? (If they say) Employer: Let me think about it and get back to you.
(You say)
You: Thanks (employer’s name) for being willing to help. I totally understand. I was looking at your LinkedIn page and I see you’re connected with some people in human resources and small business owners who would be perfect to talk with. Tell me do you know (name of contact with name of company or name of contact with name of company)? (Write down the name and ask about next contact).
You: Thank you. This helps so much, who else? (Then shut up)
(Next gather info on referrals and secure pre approach)
You: Thank you so much (employer’s name). Tell me how do you know (name of referral)? What is something you really like or respect about them? (This is your golden Key) If you were to call them what phone number would you use? Do you have it in your cell so that you can just shoot their contact card over to me? Just out of curiosity, what type of decision maker do you think (name of referral) is? Are they short and sweet and to the point, more laidback, a lot of fun or all about the numbers/details?
(Note personality type so you’re prepared to speak to them). (After gathering ALL the info, you need)
You: Thank you. I was wondering if you could take a minute to give these folks a heads up that I will be calling. Do you think you’ll be able to reach out to them later today or tomorrow?
Referral Email and Text Template: Send this to your friend so they can use it.
Subject: Introduction
Hi (name), I recently gave your contact information to (Your Full Name). He/She is a Voluntary Benefits Consultant working with (your carrier), a company that helps small and midsize companies offer big company benefits. The best thing about this is they can do this at no direct cost to your company. I believe that a visit with (Your first name) is at a minimum educational and interesting.
Phone Approach Script:
Opening (Objective: Get them open to a conversation)
You: Hi is this (Prospects Name)? (Pause) Hey (Prospect’s first name), this is (your name) (Pause – Smile!). If you’re trying to put a face to the name, it may not work because we haven’t had the opportunity to meet yet. (Pause). (Referrer’s Name) suggested I connect with you. He/she said the nicest things about you. (Share Golden Key). Did I miss anything? Tell me how do you know (referrer’s name)? (Once referral answers you say) You: How I know (referrer’s name) is (either tell story about how you know them or tell them if they are a client). So, just to make sure, are you the person who makes decisions on employee benefits or does someone else have that fun job?
(After Referral answers you say)
You: Well, _______, I work with (Company). I’m calling you today to talk about how your company can offer Big Company Benefits to your employees at no additional cost to your company. At (Company) we offer voluntary benefits to help small to midsize companies offer additional benefits using payroll deduction to pay for these programs. These are programs many of your employees need and want, but often don’t know how to get them. We offer these valuable benefits to your employees, and they can purchase them via payroll deduction. Typically, 60% of employees participate in these programs. I wanted to stop by and sit down with you for 25 minutes and show you how these programs work. Would (day and time) or (day and time) be better for you?
ACTION ITEMS
• CUSTOMIZE YOUR SCRIPT: Create a custom referral script and email to your manager/accountability partner/coach.
• REFERRAL RUBBER BAND: Wear a referral rubber band.
• LINKEDIN: Create or update your LinkedIn profile. Add all prospects and past clients to LinkedIn and search for referrals. Create a LinkedIn referral hit list.
• REFERRAL AFFIRMATIONS: Create a 3x5” card with 3 referral affirmations.
RECOMMENDED READING:
Endless Stream Of Referrals by Donnie Boivin
Beyond Referrals by Bill Cates
Don’t Keep Me A Secret by Bill Cates
Concl, usion
Referral generation can make your business take off like a rocket. Everyday I talk to agency managers/owners who want their team to use a system like this. However, their agents give in to fear and refuse to step out of their comfort zone in order to grow their business. Lately, if you read my posts and newsletter I have been pushing all of you to "BE EXCEPTIONAL!". Well folks I evolved from a terrible agent to a mediocre agent and stayed there for a while. I made money and was in the middle of the producer pack in the company I represented. Then I developed the courage to ask for referrals and it changed the trajectory of my career in 90 days and joined the ranks of the Exceptional! That year I doubled my production and income, made MDRT, bought my first brand new car and by year end I was the number 5 producer in my company. All this happened because I started asking for referrals and it led to me developing these systems. If you and/or your team learn nothing else from me, learn to implement referral generation in your business. Let me help you by conducting a 60-90 minute complimentary no cost workshop for your team. All you have to do is set up a simple zoom meeting with me so we can discuss it and work out the details. Simply click on the link below and set up a time to hop on zoom.
Please leave your thoughts in the comments below
SC Market Manager at American National
2moLove it