Referral business as I have stated many times should form the cornerstone of all sales approaches. It is fifteen times easier to close business through a referral rather through a cold prospect. Fifteen times - I'm sure you can do the math on both the opportunity cost as well as the opportunity lost of not having a well-defined referral system in place.

No Guarantee.

Just because you can generate a stream of referrals is no guarantee that you will convert the opportunity. Many people, once referred, seem to think that they can simply walk in, give a short overview about how great their offering is, and walk away with an order number.

Build Rapport

The first step in any relationship is that of building trust. It almost has nothing to do with the services or products that are ultimately being exchanged. Remember people buy from people. So the first step is to lower that invisible wall of resistance between both parties. Your first meeting should be no more than 30 minutes in duration. Ask for 30 minutes. If you build enough rapport, you may get 3 hours. Whatever you do, get that first meeting.

Gap Analysis

Sales professionals prepare a set of well-crafted questions that are deployed to gather further insights into the potential client's needs. This has a 3-pronged effect. First it shows the client that you care, further reinforcing the relationship. Secondly, it allows you to determine whether your offerings are well suited to fill the need. Thirdly, gathering information moves you closer to the close.

Present the Solution

Meet with the client, and carefully go back over what you found in the gap analysis, step-by-step explaining how your services will once and for all solve the client's need. Please, no proposals over the Internet. Face to face. Sure we are in the Internet age, and we all think we can be so efficient by simply pressing 'send'. No. Back to square one. The client needs to be involved, acoustically, visually, and emotionally. You need to be there with her. Oh and by the way...read on.

5 Is The Number

Finally, you need to have five subtle closes, tried and tested, that gently help the client overcome the final emotional hurdle on their way to buying you and your services. Five. Not four, not three. Five. How many have you got? Face to face...

It amazes me how many folks I come across, be they business associates, potential clients, those in networking groups, and sales people in general who have given little thought to their revenue generation.

And here's the rub. The least thought about step will be the limiting factor in your revenue for the year.