Create an Army of Advocates for You and Your Business Word-of-mouth, person-to-person connections matter more to your success than all the hard-sell strategies in the world. This ingenious self-marketing guide by America's #1 “Referral Guru” reveals surefire secrets that will help you to identify, and successfully meet, hundreds of high-quality referrals. Without spending a dime, you can shorten your sales cycle, increase your profits, and expand your network of friends and contacts--by giving them something to talk about. You will discover The 7 Deadly Referral Mistakes and How to Avoid Them 12 Ways to Get Great Prospects Calling You 10 Social Prospecting Ideas That Generate Referrals 6 Tactics for Stronger Introductions PLUS the 4-Point VIPS MethodTM for Asking for Referrals Whether you're a small business owner, self-employed worker, or company salesperson, referrals are the most inexpensive and effective way to drum up business. With Cates' techniques, you can establish a real name for yourself by making more connections, and more money, than you ever thought possible. “I dare you to read this book and not come away with a dozen or more ideas you can put to use immediately.” -Gerhard Gschwandtner, publisher, Selling Power magazine

Sales legend Bill Cates uses his experience and expert knowledge to show sales professionals how to work smarter (not harder) by employing "The Four Cornerstones of Referrals" --relationship building and customer service, creating referral alliances and networks, prospecting, and targeting niche markets. Using Cates's easy-to-master referral-based selling techniques, readers: Work less and earn more by getting existing customers to work for them generating high-quality referrals Turn every business contact into a relationship and every relationship into a sales success story

More Introductions! More Appointments! More Clients! You face four hurdles to gaining new clients: finding enough of the right prospects, getting their attention, making the sale, and multiplying your clients through referrals. While referrals are important, they're not the endgame. Beyond Referrals helps you turn referrals into introductions, appointments, and sales--showing you how to turn referrals into introductions to the prospects who are eager to hear from you. Then, you'll learn proven ways to convert a high percentage of prospects into high-value clients. "Bill's referral system is being used throughout our company because the results are undeniable. He has truly revolutionized the way our advisors are acquiring new clients through referrals. This book will turbocharge your client acquisition!" -- JOE JORDAN, Senior Vice President, MetLife "Beyond Referrals is a gold mine of value-based, profit-creating information. Utilizing Bill's Perpetual Revenue System, we learn that obtaining the referral is only the first step in an ongoing and very profitable cycle." -- BOB BURG, coauthor of The Go-Giver and author of Endless Referrals "Beyond Referrals explains how to avoid leaving money on the table from what I call the 'second sale.' You can read this book and double your business, or you can merely work twice as hard. That's not much of a choice." -- ALAN WEISS, PhD, author of Million Dollar Consulting and Million Dollar Referrals This is the ultimate blueprint for converting referrals into clients." -- Ivan Misner, PhD, New York Times bestselling author and founder of BNI

Key skills to make sales managers better developers of salespeople Get out of the firefighting business and into the business of developing the people who develop your profits. Successful salespeople rightfully become sales managers because of superior sales records. Yet too often these sales stars get stuck doing their old sales job while also trying to juggle their manager role, and too often companies neglect to train their sales managers how to excel as managers. That's the "sales management trap," and it's exactly what The Accidental Sales Manager addresses and solves. Full of helpful steps you can apply immediately?whether you're training a sales manager, or are one yourself?this practical guide reveals step-by-step methods sales managers can use to both learn their jobs and lead their teams. Get tactics to stop burning time and exhausting yourself, while taking effective actions to use time better as a leader Discover how to integrate learning into leading and make sales meetings an active conversation on what works and what doesn't Author has a previous bestseller, The Accidental Salesperson Don't get caught in the "sales management trap" or, if you're in it, get the tools you need to escape it. Get The Accidental Sales Manager and lead your team to do what you do best: make sales, drive profits, and get winning results.

Your Value Proposition is not your Elevator Pitch, Positioning Statement, or Unique Selling Proposition. Your Value Proposition is the sum total of all the value you bring to your prospects, clients, strategic partners, and even your employees. Your Value Proposition is the foundation of your business. No value proposition = No business! In today's world of marketing-message overload, the most effective way to grab someone's attention is through radically relevant and critically compelling messaging. Communicating a relevant and compelling value proposition has always been a critical part of winning new business. And your overwhelmed prospects and clients need and even expect your value proposition to be bullseye relevant and continually compelling. In Radical Relevance, Hall of Fame marketer and speaker Bill Cates, lays out your complete road map to discover, formulate, and communicate your value proposition in a way that will be irresistible to just the right prospects, compel them to follow your recommendations, and repel prospects who aren't a perfect fit. Remember: if you try to appeal to everyone, you run the risk of appealing to no one.It's time to take a stand with your value!It's time to get Radically Relevant!

The small business guru behind Duct Tape Marketing shares his most valuable lesson: how to get your customers to do your best marketing for you. The power of glitzy advertising and elaborate marketing campaigns is on the wane; word- of-mouth referrals are what drive business today. People trust the recommendation of a friend, family member, colleague, or even stranger with similar tastes over anything thrust at them by a faceless company. Most business owners believe that whether customers refer them is entirely out of their hands. But science shows that people can't help recommending products and services to their friends-it's an instinct wired deep in the brain. And smart businesses can tap into that hardwired desire. Marketing expert John Jantsch offers practical techniques for harnessing the power of referrals to ensure a steady flow of new customers. Keep those customers happy, and they will refer your business to even more customers. Some of Jantsch's strategies include: -Talk with your customers, not at them. Thanks to social networking sites, companies of any size have the opportunity to engage with their customers on their home turf as never before-but the key is listening. -The sales team is the most important part of your marketing team. Salespeople are the company's main link to customers, who are the main source of referrals. Getting them on board with your referral strategy is critical. -Educate your customers. Referrals are only helpful if they're given to the right people. Educate your customers about whom they should be talking to. The secret to generating referrals lies in understanding the "Customer Referral Cycle"-the way customers refer others to your company who, in turn, generate even more referrals. Businesses can ensure a healthy referral cycle by moving customers and prospects along the path of Know, Like, Trust, Try, Buy, Repeat, and Refer. If everyone in an organization keeps this sequence in mind, Jantsch argues, your business will generate referrals like a well-oiled machine. This practical, smart, and original guide is essential reading for any company looking to grow without a fat marketing budget.

Abraham--trusted advisor to America's top corporations--has written his first major book for anyone seeking fresh ideas on supercharging personal or business success.