Week 12: DO NOT KEEP ME A SECRET Orientation This is it: Week #12! Congratulations! If you’ve stuck with the program and have done the work, together with your

accountability partner, you should be seeing a different level of confidence and capability in your selling and in yourself

and the results will be showing in your business.

You are not finished yet, though. Recognize this is not the end and finish this week strong, then keep going. Let the

results of the VSB be a new beginning for you moving forward. Continue to work on everything we have covered in the

program and your entire sales process and skills.

Your Referral Network The final component we cover in the VSB series is the referral network. In this lesson, you’ll look at the opportunity to

grow your business by referrals. Once again, it’s an easy concept to understand, but mastering it usually takes some

work.

What separates those who are really effective in this area, from those who are not effective at all is your predisposition

towards actually doing it: asking people for referrals.

Why do it? People are more comfortable doing business with people they know, like, and trust. There are prospects in

the marketplace who don’t know you and could benefit from who you are and what you do. People are not comfortable

doing business with complete strangers. However, something magical – yet understandable – happens when we get a

referral from someone who we know.

Temporary Transference of Relationship Capital – Steven Covey It’s the difference between being an annoying pest or a welcomed guest.

Human nature is to transfer some of the feelings we have regarding the person we know to the person they are referring

to us. We want to use this for our benefit. This is the best way to grow your business because it shortens the sales cycle.

When people are fearful, uncertain, or doubtful about not knowing you, it takes much longer to build rapport so a

prospect feels comfortable with you. They might view your website, video, blog, LinkedIn recommendations, JMT

replicated website, and/or sign up for your email messages, and these things absolutely work, but it takes time.

What shortens that sales cycle is a referral – a favorable introduction – from someone who already has rapport with the

prospect. That gives you a running start – the advantage of momentum!

It’s such an obvious choice to use referrals, so why don’t more people do so? Fear. People are afraid of rejection. It is the

same reason they do not pick up the phone and call prospects. They do not want to ask, impose, or embarrass friends,

people they know, people they do business with, clients, or former clients. They don’t want to ask.

If you are having any of those fears, examine it. Analyze it. Process it. Get rid of it. You may need to discuss this with

your coach. It may be as simple as imagining reversing the situation.

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Reverse the Referral Imagine the person who you would like to ask for a referral called you and asked you for a referral. What would you say?

Now, reverse the process: you are the person asking for the referral. They can’t say yes, if you don’t ask.

What’s the worst that could happen? If they say “no”, you are no further behind than you are today. You have nothing

to lose. You are a business person, make no apologies for that. You do great work, you’ve trained hard, you know what

you are doing, and you deliver with all the energy and passion you possess. You want an opportunity to do more. It’s

living your purpose and dream and helping people in many tangible ways. Think about it that way. Think of the people

who aren’t going to benefit from who you are and what you do as a result of your fear; your cowardice to ask for

referrals. Don’t you owe it to them to simply ask for a referral?

How to Get Referrals

Give Referrals BNI’s theme is: Givers Gain. Give referrals to get referrals. However, do not give referrals only for the benefit of getting

referrals in reciprocation. Give referrals because it is a good thing to do. When you hear of people looking for someone

with certain expertise you should give referrals. When you give referrals, it gets far more comfortable to ask for

referrals.

You must make a habit of thinking about word-of-mouth marketing. Ask for referrals!

Form a Power Team A Power Team is a group of people who are in related fields to you, who service the same type of clients, but are not

competitors. Look for other people who service the same target market as you. You can provide referrals to each other.

For customers who started with you from a referral, remind them and ask for referrals from them.

The Bottom Line: To get referrals, you must ask.

Ask Current or Recent Clients First, identify the value you’ve provided to the person:

What benefits did you get from working with me?

What’s different now for you, vis-à-vis before we started working together?

What’s moved the needle?

What’s the biggest epiphany, change, or growth area for you?

What are the real tangible benefits you received from doing business with me, my product, or my services?

That gives you a testimonial (ask if you can use it).

Then, ask for the referrals:

Who do you know who might benefit from that same process?

Who else would value that?

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Who do you know who would benefit from what I do?

Don’t keep me a secret! I’m looking for people like you who have similar needs that I might be able to meet.

Who do you know?

Be Specific “Specific is terrific.”

Develop your “Top 40” list. Show it to your recent and existing customers and explain these are the top people you’d like

to get a favorable introduction to. Then ask:

Who do you know of these people?

Who do you know the best?

Who would you be most comfortable referring me to?

Do any of these people seem like people who would benefit from what I do?

Basically two approaches:

1. Asking people the open-ended question: Who do you know?

2. Asking people the closed-ended specific question: Do you know (specific person/people from your list)?

Take Action If this has all made sense to you, that’s great, but that’s not the point. Take action.

You are at the end of the bootcamp and we sincerely hope you are pleased with the results, but as Ralph Waldo

Emerson said, “What we call results are beginnings.” Keep going! Take action daily.

MOVE OUT!

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Action Plan This week, you’ll work with your Accountability Partner(s) to get referrals.

1. Watch the video with the worksheet.

2. Reflect on the work you did last week regarding closing the sale and how you will apply that into real life

scenarios – starting now.

3. Hold (at least) two meetings with your Accountability Partner(s) to set your intention at the start of the week

and to check in and report how you’ve done at the end of the week.

4. Generate a list of referral partners.

a. Identify people who serve similar customers as you do in different ways.

b. Get in or form a Power Team, whether formally associated with a BNI chapter or independent. When

the Power Team is independent of a BNI chapter, be aware: you will likely need to be the one who must

keep it structured and organized. Google “power teams” for more information if needed.

c. Review your “Top 40” previously created.

5. Examine whether you are having fears of rejection in the referral process. If you are, analyze that, process it, and

get rid of it. Reverse the process.

6. Practice getting a referral with your AP; change roles and repeat.

7. Set up a time to meet with people to get referrals.

a. Preferably, get together with people for coffee (or in a similarly relaxed atmosphere).

b. You can even schedule a few in a row.

c. Do it when you feel you are at your best, when you are a natural networker!

d. Get in and get out. Talk about who they are what they are doing; what’s going on in their world. Make it

bi-directional, so you are giving as well as gaining.

8. BONUS POINTS: Refer this program to other JMT members who may benefit greatly from it!

9. DOUBLE BONUS POINTS: Ask Ed to provide a referral for his awesome videographer.

10. TRIPLE BONUS POINTS: Complete the survey of VSB. This will help us improve our content and delivery to YOU!

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In Appreciation and Gratitude I am truly grateful for everyone who has attended the VSB and would like to thank each of you for your participation. I

would also like to recognize the following contributors to this program.

Kudos to Stephan Seyfert and Barbara Leigh, who have been phenomenal in providing the worksheets for each video.

Special thanks to Private Pinky (aka, Barbara Leigh), for her assistance from the very beginning with brainstorming on a

concept that would be most beneficial and attractive for JMT members, for fielding questions as we began this process,

and for her kind assistance on the calls.

Special thanks to Tammy Noble for her excellent work in formulating the partnerships and creating the Excel

spreadsheet.

Many, many thanks to Paul Martinelli for the idea and suggestion (direct order) to just do it, and to all of my fellow

members of the teaching team, for whom I have great admiration and respect.

Notable thanks to Laurie Olsen and Bianka Hain for ensuring the timely posting and handling of the videos and

worksheets to the JMT online university.

I look forward to hearing about your accomplishments, indirectly or directly as a result of doing the work on your own

and with your AP as part of the VSB.

Sincerely,

Ed DeCosta

All of this has been made possible because of someone we all love dearly – Drill Sergeant Ed DeCosta – who has

brilliantly provided a sales program that produces results when participants are committed to the process and take

massive action. Doing the exercises will inevitably help us achieve our sales goals and targets! Together, we Ascend

faster, higher, and wealthier! Thank you, Ed!

Your Recruits

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