NYC Elevate is a networking community organized to help our members make more money through structured collaboration and referrals.
Hey, you got an awesome referral from a fellow member here at Elevate.
Maybe so, maybe not.
As hard as it sounds, do you know that sometimes the best thing you can do with a referral is to not do business with them.
I recently received a good website referral and they had a large amount to spend.
So I followed up, had a great conversation with him, and sent him a proposal that was laser focused on his requirements.
And then I had another conversation with him two weeks later, and then another one two weeks later, and then a final one two weeks after that.
Each time I spoke with him there were red flags, until the final call where the hair on the back of my neck literally stood up.
As you may know, I’m a hyper-competitive person, so I always think I can turn any situation into a win.
But after that last call, the more seasoned business person in me started thinking about the problem clients that I’ve had in the past; I thought about the aggravation, the wasted time and the money I’ve lost with these problem clients.
And then it hit me that this person was in the exact profile of every problem client that I’ve ever had.
At that point, I made the hard decision to forgo that project.
So I emailed him, thanked him for the opportunity and withdrew my proposal while saying that I didn’t think my company was properly positioned to help him achieve his goals.
So you got an awesome referral from a fellow member here at Elevate.
Maybe so, maybe not.
So make sure you properly vet every sales lead and referral that you get to make sure they will be a good client for you and your business, while turning away the bad fits.
Do this and I guarantee you will not only save your sanity, you’ll definitely make more money.
