A Referral Tactic to Quadruple Your Business

by David Frey

Learn how to get business owners to "refer" your business to all of their employees. This marketing strategy is simple, but brilliant.

About a month ago I was sitting in my second floor office doing some work when I heard a knock on my door.

I said, "Come in" and in walked a handsome young guy who introduced himself as Andrew. He handed me a small, plasticized black card.

As I took it from him, he mentioned that he was the sales guy for a local car wash and lube place and wanted to share with me as a free gift a 20% off discount card.

I took the card and said, "Thank you."

It was a very simple discount card. It's actually called the "Preferred Customer Card."

That very day, I drove over to the oil and lube business and had my oil changed and car washed.

It was great.

The beauty is that I get to use this, my Preferred Customer Card, over and over again. I put the card in my glove compartment and I intend to use it every time I need my oil changed.

It's a brilliant little low cost marketing tactic but...

...Here's The Referral Tactic that Exploded His Sales

After Andrew gave me my card he then asked me how many employees I had.

I told him how many employees I had and then he handed me cards for all my employees and said, "Would you like to share our Preferred Customer Card with your employees? They make great gifts."

I replied, "Sure."

So I ended up giving the 20% discount cards to my employees and they loved them.

It turns out that Andrew has done this same tactic with close to 30% of the businesses here in my home town.

1. He finds out who the owner of the business is.
2. He offers the owner the Preferred Customer Card.
3. He then offers the owner cards that he can give out to all his/her employees.

In essence, he gets the business owners to "refer" his business to all of his employees.

Now Here are the Live Actual Results...

This simple direct marketing referral strategy has produced astounding results. Here they are...

Month 1 - 89 New Customers

Month 2 - 180 New Customers

Month 3 - 273 New Customers

And the best part about this marketing strategy (for this specific business) is that in Month 4 the new customers from Month 1 start returning.

So this tactic starts to compound on itself.

This referral tactic can be used with a LOT of different businesses. One of the keys that makes it successful is the card itself. Since it is a physical card, they are more likely to value it as compared to a simple paper coupon.

Find Your Niche Market on Ebay

Find Your Niche Market on Ebay:

Many of us dream of working from home by selling products on Ebay. But what would we sell? And how would we know if a market exists for the items we have? To avoid listing items that nobody wants, or items within an already flooded market, some research is in order. The goal of this research is to find your niche on Ebay.

Many Ebay sellers provide their goods within one niche. Others have a handful of niches that they specialize in. The key is to find a group of products that you're already familiar with. Perhaps you've been a collector of antiques for many years. If so, you probably know when you come across an item that could potentially sell for a good amount of cash. Likewise, you have a good idea of which items are likely to collect dust on your shelves. You can put this knowledge to work for you on Ebay. Your expertise with antiques gives you an edge over many competitors.

Once you have a good idea of the niche you wish to fill, it's time for the second half of your preliminary work. Start a spreadsheet that lists the different types of items you would like to sell. Then add a monetary value to each entry. This reflects how much you can expect to purchase the item for. Be realistic; you want to lay out an accurate portrait of how much money you will be spending to build up your inventory. Optimism won't help in this circumstance.

Expand your spreadsheet to include other niche markets, just in case. These can be items you enjoy working with, have expert knowledge of, or something you've always had an affinity for and think you could be successful with. Remember: no matter what your niche is, someone will buy from it as long as you list quality items at reasonable prices. Estimate the initial cost of each item, including shipping and sales tax. Then prepare to immerse yourself in Ebay as your research begins in earnest.

Go to Ebay and search through the completed auctions. This allows you to see the actual price that items similar to yours have sold for. Is the average price something you could live with? Remember to factor in shipping costs. Also, pay attention to the quality of the sold items when deciding whether this niche is something you wish to pursue. Items in “mint” or “like new” condition will bring considerably higher prices on Ebay than worn, scuffed items.

Now reflect on your findings. Did the completed Ebay auctions fetch your target price, or were the closing bids uniformly low? Did any of the items fetch a surprisingly high amount? If you were unimpressed by your findings, go back and consult your spreadsheet; it's time to start researching another niche.

If your observations were mostly positive, you may have found your Ebay niche already. In that case, go out and start building up your supply. Don't go overboard; you're still in the testing phase. Purchase a dozen or so items at fair prices. Then list them on Ebay.

For many sellers, waiting is the hard part. But you'll need patience for this phase of your niche-finding project. Monitor your listings and see how they perform. If they do well, you can build up your stock even more and increase your listings. If they don't quite live up to your expectations, you can go back to square one. Pick another niche from your spreadsheet and start researching it.

The key to finding your niche on Ebay, as with many challenges in life, is simply to never quit. If you have a wide variety of interests, you're more likely to find a profitable niche that you will enjoy filling. Think of all the things you enjoy doing, making, or collecting. Then come up with a list of ten items related to each. This sort of brainstorming is a sure-fire remedy for pushing past your seller's block. Let your imagination roam, and you'll carve out your Ebay niche in no time.

Dispelling An SFI Myth

Dispelling An SFI Myth A special message from SFI President & Founder, Gery Carson

One of the biggest misconceptions about SFI is that there is a monthly fee or purchase requirement. This is, of course, completely FALSE. There is NEVER any cost to be an affiliate. And you can earn VersaPoints and corresponding benefits, perks, and payouts through a variety of actions. Yes, thousands of SFI affiliates DO purchase SFI products for themselves. It only makes sense, after all, to buy from TripleClicks.com, "your own store"—especially those items that you are already purchasing from someone else (more on this in a moment). However, this is TOTALLY OPTIONAL. The best way to accumulate VersaPoints and attain Executive Affiliate rank is to generate 1,500 SVP instantly via a purchase at the TripleClicks store...OR...without any personal purchases by taking the actions outlined in the Getting Started, BASICS, or LAUNCHPAD sections. In fact, SFI has a wide variety of products available with varying VersaPoint totals attached for you to offer your customers and prospective affiliates. As few as one customer sale a month can get you to Executive Affiliate rank each month! How do you make these sales? The easiest way is to check out the numerous strategies outlined at theMember Referral Methods page. By the way, each time one of your TC customers or one of your PSAs places an order at TripleClicks.com, you earn 45% of the CV. PLUS...as an Executive Affiliate, you'll earn shares from the TripleClicks Executive Pool, become eligible for Co-Sponsor Commissions and ECA Royalties, pick up free TripleClicks TCredits, get co-sponsored affiliates added to your team each month, and more! For a list of ALL benefits you'll get from accumulating VersaPoints. BUYING FROM TRIPLECLICKS.COM, YOUR OWN STORE As an SFI affiliate, you are essentially a partner of SFI's. You truly need to think of the SFI product line as YOUR product line. Hence, it only makes sense that when you buy products and services, you always shop your own store first. If you owned a bakery, I'm certain you wouldn't be buying cinnamon rolls from Winchell's Donuts down the street. If you owned a Ford dealership, I'm betting you wouldn't even think about buying a Chevy across town. It's the exact same thing with SFI. Especially when it comes to products you're ALREADY buying. "Your store" almost certainly carries several products or services that you ALREADY purchase from a local store or other service provider. Why not transfer those purchases...to YOUR store? Remember, we're not talking about spending extra money, just changing where you're buying it from. In doing so, you're taking action that supports the growth of your SFI business and the businesses of your entire team. Additionally, your upline leaders (your Sponsor and Team Leaders) earn commissions each time you buy from your SFI store. And while that may not excite you right now, it surely will when later you have your own team of hundreds or thousands of affiliates and you're earning commissions on every purchase they make! So where do you go when you're ready to shop your store? Just head over to TripleClicks.com—YOUR store.