There I was, sweating up a river on the elliptical machine at the gym on Saturday, when "Ole' Jed" came on the t.v. set. You know, "Ole' Jed the poor mountaineer who barely kept his family fed...then one day he was shootin' at some food, and up from the ground came a bubblin' crude..." The next line is "Oil that is, black gold. Texas tea."

If your sales have been suffering lately, consider this: you may have some of that "black gold" right in front of you, just as Jed did, but not even know it. Keep your eyes open and you may just find out how to move to Beverly Hills where the movie stars are!

What am I talking about THIS time? Referral business! Do you have a plan in place for gaining referral business from your existing and loyal customers? If you don't, now is the best time to uncover that "Texas tea" to boost your sales numbers! Here are five tips to get you started on your referral business plan:

1. Who do you know? Make a list of your best contacts. Start by thinking of your regular customers, your infrequent buyers, then your business network of vendors, suppliers, and business partners. Then your networking "friends". All of these people know others who can use your products and/or services. Start with a list of 50 people on your "hit list".

2. Put your plan into place. What are you going to do with these 50 contacts? Call them, email them, send out a letter, card, or personalized note? Whatever you decide, get busy! That "Texas tea" is just staring you in the face, but you're going to have to start shooting at it!

3. Carefully word your message. If your business if off, and you sound desperate, that will not serve you well. However, if you have an upbeat, positive message about how you are "growing your business to the next level", or something to that effect, you can anticipate more success.

4. Be specific in your wording. Sometimes, salespeople use subtleties such as, "Call me if I can help out any of your friends." How about, "Beverly who else do you know at your company who can benefit from our services?" 

5. Check back. Rather than leave the customer's response to the "random universe", plan for your follow up. It may sound like this: "You said you'd look through your  database. When is the best time to call you back for a name or two?:"

So there you have it. The best tips to get closer to "Ole' Jed the Millionaire" by simply paying more attention to the ground around you.

(c)Renee Walkup, All Rights Reserved, www.salespeak.com, 678 587-9911