By William Holden, chairman, Sewells Training and Consultancy

The more recommendations you EARN, the more sales you’ll close. You need “word of mouth”. Your reputation isn’t what you say it is – it’s what other people say it is.

Three things you need to know:-

• Prospects talk to loads of people They’re going to say one of five things: Something great, good, nothing, bad, or really bad. What you do, how you act, and how hard you work to earn their “word of mouth” will determine what they say about you.
• Word of mouth is what sells What are your customers saying about you behind your back? That will determine not only your fate with that relationship, but also what they say to your next prospect.
• “Memorable” is everything If you aren’t memorable, you won’t be spoken about in a positive way - you’ll be spoken about in an average way. Create a “WOW” experience and go above and beyond what your competitors are doing.
• Here are the ‘four rules of word of mouth marketing’:-
• Be interesting or be invisible Nobody talks about boring: companies, products, ads, sales people, or boring sales pitches. You don’t have to be. It just takes effort and a little creativity.
• Make people happy Create amazing buying experiences. Provide excellent service. Make sure the work you do gets people energised, excited and eager to tell a friend.
• Earn trust and respect Be good to your customers, talk to them. Honour their intelligence, fulfil their needs. Stay honest.
• Make it easy Your job is to make it easy for happy customers to talk about you. Find a simple topic that is easy to repeat – not your formal brand statement, or product description. What can people tell a friend about you in one sentence?

Remember this: “Word of mouth” is something you can be great at. It doesn’t take big money, or fancy promotions, it just takes heart, enthusiasm and sincerity – have you and your team got that?