The Doomsayers Among Us

The cold logic is that relying solely on referrals is a game of exponentials. A satisfied customer is a free salesperson, but it’s easily going to take five to ten new recommendations (and this is optimism that’s almost off the scale) before one turns into a new job. Since those referrals circulate in common groups of people or businesses, the potential for new prospects peter out quickly.

Of course, there’s also the sentiment that business is pretty good already, so why ask for more? (I also call this the phone-in-the-trash-can syndrome, to avoid dealing with new clients.) While this sounds laughable, the idea of hunkering down in the storm cellar while the recession tornado roars through seems wise to many people.

The problem is that you can sit in the basement far too long and not only miss new potential business; you can lose visibility with current customers. Stay in good stead with those you know, but recognize that you need to find new people to keep your business growing.

Emerson Schwartzkopf can be reached at emerson@stonebusiness.net. You can read his blog at stonebusinesseditor.wordpress.com. And don’t forget to keep up with Stone Business on Twitter and Facebook.

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