84% of Sales Are Word of Mouth

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."  

- Maya Angelou, Poet 

Referrals are something we all talk about but never seem to put any focus on. Reviews on our Google Places pages, testimonials, etc. are all the single most important part of a true Marketing Machine. Below is a short article by Brain Tracy about "word of mouth advertising", and see my presentation on the subject of creating a "Formal Referral  Program". It is simple and quick but it takes some focused effort - an investment that will payoff in rapid growth.    

From Brian Tracy:

Did you know that 84 percent of sales in America take place as the result of word-of-mouth advertising?

Some of the most important sales promotion sales activities are those that take place between customers and prospects, between friends and colleagues, in the form of advice and recommendations on what to buy, or not buy, and who to buy from. What does this mean for you?

It means that the only way that you can be among the top ten percent of salespeople in your industry is by having your existing customers selling for you on every occasion. Because of the importance of mega-credibility in selling, your customers must be happy to open doors to new customers for you wherever they go.

Never Prospect Again

All top salespeople eventually reach the point where they seldom have to prospect because their customers do much of their selling for them. When you live your life consistent with your personal and business mission statements, both fitting together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, your sales career will soar, as will your sales results and your earnings.

Be Clear About Who You Are

One important point with regard to vision, values and mission statements: be gentle with yourself. It has taken you your whole life to become the person you are today. If you are like everyone else, you are not perfect. You have lots of room to grow and improve. There are many changes that you can make in your character and personality in the course of becoming the excellent human being that you aspire to. But change in your personality will not come easily, and it won't come overnight. You must be patient.

Persist Until Your Succeed
The reason that people grow and become better and better over the course of time, is because they persist gently in the direction of their goals and dreams. They don't expect overnight transformations. When they don't see results immediately, they don't get discouraged. They just keep on keeping on. And you must do the same.

All the best,

Rick Wallace