Join getAbstract to access the summary!

Get More Referrals Now!

Join getAbstract to access the summary!

Get More Referrals Now!

McGraw-Hill,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

Do-not-call lists have killed cold-calling. So what do you do now? Build business on the basis of referrals. Here's how.

auto-generated audio
  • 0.5×
  • 0.75×
  • 1×
  • 1.25×
  • 1.5×
  • 1.75×
1×
auto-generated audio

Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Cold calling is dead. Do-not-call lists will consign the telemarketer to the dustbin of annoying business history. So what do you do instead? Build your business on the basis of referrals. Provide such outstanding service to your clients that they will want to introduce you to others. This is easier said than done, but when it is done right, it’s very effective. Author Bill Cates provides a treasury of lore, some obvious but often ignored, some creative and new, all of it useful in building a referral-based business. He writes clearly, concisely and succinctly. getAbstract.com gladly recommends - or refers - Cates to you; his guidebook is practical for anyone in almost any business.

Summary

The Bedrock

Business is all about meeting people and the best way to meet people is through people. Most people rely on word-of-mouth advice from friends and trusted sources when they are deciding on a provider of professional services. In one study, a sales call was 40 times more likely to succeed when the list of prospects was a referral list than when it was an ordinary cold call list. Cold calling is getting even more difficult, particularly in the U.S., in the face of do-not-call laws and lists. So it makes sense to focus on referrals as the bedrock foundation for your business. Prospects look for evidence that you will keep your promises and deliver on your commitments. The best evidence you can provide to show that you have done so for someone else is being referred and recommended.

The Bane of the Do-Not-Call List

People usually don't like having their dinners or television programs interrupted by cold-calling telemarketers or other salespeople. They dislike it so much that legislators in the U.S. agreed to make it easier for them to escape this inconvenience. On October 1, 2003, a nationwide do-not-call list made its debut. Consumers who put their ...

About the Author

Bill Cates is president of Referral Coach International. He writes columns for On Wall Street and Advisor Today. His audio cassette albums on sales and sales management include Unlimited Referrals, Breaking the Voice Mail Barrier, No More Cold Calls and Target Marketing, among others.

Comment on this summary