Never Throw Business Away

Here’s an example of how the amazing power of the Internet canfind endless opportunities:

A year ago I had a client in Australia that was in search of another speaker like myself who is an expert in marketing and retail, but thatlived in Australia.

Since I live in Phoenix, Arizona US, I did not know a soul inAustralia, much less a great speaker in the same niche market andthe same topic of expertise my client was looking for. But,following my motto to “Never Throw Business Away”, I set out tofind my Australian client a dynamic expert that lived in hercountry.

First I did a search on Yahoo – Australia. Since my site comesup very high on the search engines and directories when typing inthe keywords retail speaker, I was surprised that another speakerappeared first on the list. John Stanley – who is this JohnStanley I thought. I clicked onto his site and viewed it in greatdetail. I had discovered that I had some tough competition on theother side of the world. Not only was John an expert in retail,he was the perfect fit for my client. So I sent him an email withthe client’s contact information. Now you may be thinking, whywould you send your client to your competition?

Here are 5 BIG reasons why:

1.My client would have found this speaker on her own doing asearch on the Internet or by contacting a Speakers Bureau anyway. So, why not be the hero and help out the client at the same time.

2.Servicing my clients is first and foremost on my list ofpriorities. I take ordinary service and turn it intoextraordinary results. This is easy to do, just stop selling andstart servicing and you reap amazing results.

3.My clients are pleasantly surprised that I would not onlyrefer them to a competitor, but that I would take the time topersonally introduce them. My referrals are often sent in theform of an email (first choice because it is quick, easy andeffective), personalized letters or one on one in person.

4.Business will comes back to you many times over when usingthis method effectively. I have personally experienced this foryears in the many different businesses I have owned. Most peopleare afraid of their competition and therefore avoid them. Thisbuilds up a wall around you and a competitor who happens to havethe same core customer base as you do. Don’t’ fight ‘em – join‘em! Build alliances and send them business. It is a win-winfor everyone involved!

You service your customer, help out your competition and they inturn will most likely turn around and help you back. Note: Ifafter sending numerous referrals to my competition with noreciprocating action, I simply stop sending the referrals andfind another expert competitor that is willing to trade referralsfairly.

5.People like to do business with people that they like, andthey like people that treat them fair, honesty and who truly careabout making personal connections and offering supportiveservice. That’s just good business!

And now for the rest of the story …

When I sent my newfound competitor, John Stanley my clientscontact information, I never knew if I would her back from him ornot. And I did not know that he would want to reach outinstantly and help me back. At the time I was just helping aclient in need. But, John returned with an email to me within 24hours. John thanked me for the referral and mentioned that hewould be in Arizona, just 20 minutes from my home in two weeks. He said he would give me a call when he arrived. Now what are thechances of this happening with someone I just met via theInternet from the other side of the world?

A couple of weeks went by and the phone call came. John was in town and wanted me to stop by where he was presenting to meet and chat up a bit.

We chatted up a bit all right – two hours later of not stopchatting we had discovered more and more ways to refer oneanother. During our conversation, John told me he had to confessto something that he could not tell me via email or by phone.

“Just two days before I got your email, I did a search on Yahooand found Debbie Allen. I thought, who is this Debbie Allen andwhy am I not coming up first on the search engines under retailspeaker? So I went onto your site and discovered yourexpertise. I thought, this lady is some tough competition on theother side of the world. They I printed out a couple pages fromyour Web site. Those pages were sitting on my desk when I gotyour email!”

Wow! Makes the hair on your arms stand up, doesn’t it? What arethe chances? The chances my friends, for this type ofopportunity to happen to you, are endless now with the World WideWeb. Oh yes, and if that is not enough to convince you to domore marketing via email and passing on referrals to yourcompetitors, let me share with you what happened with thosereferral leads.

John and I have shared many contacts and created businessopportunities in many countries including the US, Australia, NewZealand, Canada, Singapore, UK and Africa. We have evenpresented together on the same platform in England and weredubbed the “The Ginger Rogers & Fred Astaire Of The SpeakingBusiness”. In addition, John has become one of my most successfuldistributors and resellers of my books in his part of the world.

DON’T EVER THROW BUSINESS AWAY AGAIN! Seek out, connect and referyour clients to another expert if you can’t take the business forsome reason. Become the resource for referrals and connections –the Internet Rolodex. When passing business along make sure thatyou keep yourself in the referral loop. Send an emailintroduction to your client with a copy to the person you arereferring so that they can see the contact was made. Pass on allthe contact information for the referral. Then wait for it tocome back around to you with TONS of personalized referrals andincreased business.

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Debbie Allen is one of the world’s top sales and marketingexperts. As an international speaker she has presented tothousands of people in nine countries around the world. She isthe author of the best seller, Confessions of Shameless SelfPromoters. Download a free chapter and sign up for her freenewsletters on shameless marketing at http://www.DebbieAllen.com Contact Debbie directly to learn more about her dynamic keynotepresentations at 800-359-4544.