Referral. Chapter 7. A Brand New Attitude.

The next morning, Susie woke far too early again. She got dressed, grabbed her notebook, and took the long way to Chuck’s café, savoring this new feeling and this moment in her life. It still felt like a beginning. And it felt good.

At 8:00 A.M., she walked into the café. And there was Highground chatting with Chuck behind the counter.

They both greeted her with big smiles, and Highground strolled over, waving her to a table up front where they could see the water.

“How are you doing this morning?” Highground wanted to know as they sat down.

“Oh, Mr. Highground. Great, just great! ” That pleased Highground tremendously. “I can see the transformation happening before my eyes. You are hardly the same woman I met three days ago.” “Thanks to you.” “No,” Highground corrected her. “No matter how much knowledge you gain about the system, it only works if you stay true to the three questions I asked you. And I think you will.” “That’s my plan.” “Let’s get out your notebook.” Susie zipped out the notebook and plopped it open to the Goal 4 page she had filled in the night before.

Highground examined it and nodded approvingly, patting the notebook. “Susie, what I’d like for us to do this morning is to review all you’ve experienced the last couple of days and then talk about your plans for the future,your newfound plan of action. Okay?” Susie sighed. “I have to tell you, Mr. Highground.

Philip called you a perception changer, and that is exactly what you are. You change perceptions, which changes attitudes. I have often told people to cheer up or look at the bright side of things, but there’s no way to do that when we are dodging falling trees, as you put it. A person’s attitude can only change when his or her perception changes, and that’s what you, along with your friends, have done for me the past couple of days. For that I am very appreciative.” That seemed to please him deeply. “Thank you. But, as I said, it’s really up to you now.” “But now I know the combination!” Susie said, pointing to the notebook page before them. It was the “Right Combination for Success” drawing of Principle 4 that showed all four principles and the lock popped open. “You know, I smiled when I saw that last lock open on Principle 4 the very first day you gave me the notebook, even before I knew about the power of putting a Keep in Touch program in place. Now it makes me smile even more.” Highground cocked his head at the picture and smiled, too. “The combination can unlock a whole new world.” Highground flipped back to her goal sheets. “And from the looks of these goals, you’re halfway there. You have projected yourself into the future several weeks for each goal and done it admirably. And your tasks are simple and achievable, which makes each goal reasonably attainable.

Good for you. My bet is you’ll attain them.” That made Susie beam.

“You know where I’d like us to start?” he suddenly decided. “Why don’t you explain to me where you were two days ago and where you are right now.” Susie laughed. “Do you realize I almost didn’t call you because I was concerned about my cell phone bill? That’s where I was. My biggest frustration was that I had no plan for who I talked to about my business or what to do with them after I made contact. I was either coming on too strong or I simply couldn’t connect with them at all, so how could I develop a relationship?

“I thought I needed some grandiose marketing or advertising plan that would save me. I was continually looking toward tomorrow and hoping the perfect plan would just appear. When it didn’t, I hit the wall and that’s when we met.

You know,” she realized, “strangely enough, what I had been hoping for did appear,when Chuck referred me to you.” That’s when Chuck appeared at her elbow carrying her usual hazelnut coffee with steamed milk and a biscotti, just like the one he pushed toward her three days earlier to coax her into telling him her problems. He pushed it, ceremoniously,across the table toward her.

Susie loved the gesture, laughing out loud.

“It’s amazing what seventy-two hours can do for a person, isn’t it?” Chuck said, patting Highground on the shoulder before going back to his work.

“How long ago did he begin your system?” Susie asked Highground, gazing appreciatively back Chuck’s way.

“About five years ago. And it may not surprise you to know that he was referred to me by a friend of his, too.” “No, that doesn’t surprise me at all,now.” She dunked her biscotti into her coffee and took a big bite out of it.

“So go on. You left off at the point Chuck referred me, I believe.” “Well, you know what happened after that. Now I have a proactive plan that fits me. I don’t feel the need to try to imitate someone else,” she said.

“And I understand and appreciate the old saying that it’s eleven times more expensive to find a new client than to keep an existing one,” she added, enjoying her biscotti. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying everything more this morning.

“My problem was I didn’t have a system in place to keep my existing clients by communicating with them regularly enough, let alone ask them for referrals. But I now have your system, the system that puts the relationship first and is based on the golden rule and that can demonstrate my consistency and earn me the right to ask and receive, hopefully, referrals from my special people.” “As soon as you begin to live it, Susie, it is your system.

You will experience the success of staying the course.” “And I’ll be proud to claim it because it seems to me that the beauty of this system, especially the Keep in Touch program, is the way it communicates. So many people talk about communicating with their database, but few do, other than an occasional mailer trying to sell something else or brag about themselves. But I truly believe that when I tell my client to just let me know if I can help them, I will be prepared to. And then when I ask if they have any friends or associates that could use my services and promise to treat them as I have treated the client, it will mean something. Because I’ve proved myself through consistency, right? Through staying the course, by staying in touch.” Highground sat back and shook his head. “That is such a nice way of putting it.” He looked proudly at his new student. “It’s obvious you have come into your own now, Susie.

This is always such a high point for me.” But Susie wasn’t finished. “You know, before I met you, if someone gave me a card, I put it in a file and never did follow up appropriately. When I finally got around to calling about something I was offering, so much time had passed since the last time I’d made contact, I felt like a fake, a counterfeit, calling and acting as if I were interested in the relationship. But both of us knew the only reason I was truly calling. I was acting like an opportunist, and the way that made me feel was what was holding me back. My stomach kept turning. I know that now.” Susie smiled. “But everything is going to change. Now, I will be doing things the old-fashioned way,I will earn the right to ask for a referral. I understand these great principles and how they apply to business. I will be in touch with the people in my life on a regular basis, and I now know how to actually do that, communicating with them and consistently offering them items of value. And I have a sneaky feeling that many of them will be impressed for the sole reason that they have always wanted to do this kind of communication themselves but never knew exactly how.” Highground lifted his coffee cup in a toast to Susie.

So Susie lifted hers, too. “You should be proud of yourself, Susie. I salute you.” “Thank you,” Susie said and clinked her coffee cup with his, then dunked the last of her biscotti and popped it in her mouth. “You can’t imagine how proud I am of myself.

1 But I’ll be more proud once this whole system is up and rolling and I’m living it every day.” “Exactly. You have an excellent grasp of the system.

Now I encourage you to stay the course for four months.

Work at it, Susie. Do it. Because if you do, you will settle into a routine that will be unique to you.” Highground placed a piece of paper on Susie’s notebook. “Put this in your notebook. It’s what I call my ‘Next Steps List.’ It is simply a list of the twenty most important next steps, events to schedule into your day to get this process going. Once the system is set, you have an instant relational gateway into every new contact you make, and you have the special ability to touch everyone regularly, without fail. Just set it into motion and stay the course. Remember, after you have demonstrated consistency with clients you already have relationships with, you will never have competition again. You will own the relationship in the same wonderful way that you can claim a friend.” Susie looked excitedly at the Next Steps List and immediately began to make notations on it, thinking ahead to when she could get started on everything.

Next steps list.

1. Finish the list of initial names. Call and verify addresses, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses.

2. ABC all names.

3. Select a contact manager or CRM system. Make sure you have the ability to set ABC fields.

4. Research and select a trusted contract database professional with mail and print service.

5. Research the Internet for different communications you can develop for your Keep in Touch program. Check with those in your industry to see what they use. Outline a twelve-month program.

6. Select an online-service to help you develop and deliver an immediate Web of Appreciation. Make sure you can access your database for ease of use with standard selections that can be processed without difficulty.

7. Purchase personalized thank-you notes. Immediately send them after every meeting upon gaining permission to add the person to your database.

8. Finalize a twelve-month Keep in Touch print program for your database. Select the items and choose the dates when you will send them. Commit the plan to paper and make it visible. List the program tasks needed each month to deliver without fail.

9. Finalize a Web of Appreciation program. Set an appropriate budget for frontline personnel, referral gifts, and standard holiday gifts in addition to your Keep in Touch program.

10. Send a confession letter to your database.

11. Follow up by calling everyone you have sent a letter to. Ask for birthdays (not years) and anniversaries if appropriate. Enter them into your database.

12. Set personal meetings with your As and explain your new philosophy. Ask for referrals during each meeting.

13. If needed, make a commitment to a set number of personal appointments or telephone calls to add more potential clients to your database. Utilize the three magic questions.

14. If you want a larger sphere of influence, adopt a database. Call everyone on your newly adopted list and ask permission to start communicating.

15. If you want a larger sphere of influence, select a direct-mail list. Customize the list and call each person using the qualifying question Sheila Marie used to build a relational farm.

16. Educate everyone on your staff about how the program works. Incorporate the principles into your culture.

17. Call all the people who “make money when you make money”,primarily your vendors. Explain how your program works, ask what you can do for them, and then ask for referrals.

18. Incorporate into your sales presentation how you put relationships first and what the value is to your clients. Share your new philosophy with everyone appropriate who will listen. Then ask for referrals.

19. Use your newfound ‘hall pass’ and make a scheduled call to everyone in your database at least once a year. If you have developed a birthday card program, make the call after you have sent out the birthday card, calling to say “happy birthday.” Ask how you might help the person and ask for a referral or an appointment if appropriate.

20. Always, always ask what you might do for the person you call and always, always remind the person that your business is built on the good opinion of others. Then always ask for a referral,just like Philip did.

When she finished scanning the list, she noticed that Highground had stood up. “You are going to do great, Susie. Make sure you check off each one after you complete it, then list these steps in your planner with your goals and stay true to your promise to me and yourself. Stay the course.” He smiled. “It’s been a pleasure getting to know you. If I can help you in any way at all, just let me know.

And if you have any friends that can benefit from the concepts I shared, pass them on. Share them, and you will be personally blessed by doing so. It’s the good stuff,it’s the golden rule!” “Do you have to leave?” Susie said, suddenly rather sad.

“See you, old friend!” she heard Chuck call from behind her. She looked around at Chuck, and when she turned back, the mysterious Mr. Highground had disappeared yet again.

She could only shake her head and smile after him.

Chuck walked up and began picking up their dirty dishes.

“Quite a guy, huh?” Susie could only shake her head again. She picked up her notebook and the Next Steps List that Highground had given her, then got to her feet, too. And with a big smile for Chuck, she said, “You know, the day is young and I’m ready to get going. See you later, Chuck.” Chuck watched Susie leave. She had a confidence in her step that was missing a few days ago. “The high ground will do that for you,” he murmured, picking up the last of their dishes and feeling a deep sense of satisfaction at his role in the drama. Susie McCumber’s professional transformation, he thought to himself, enjoying the sound of it. He liked Susie, and he had no doubt the high ground was for her.

Besides, he realized with a happy smile as he headed back behind his antique oak counter, it didn’t hurt that even though there were other coffee places in town, there would be only one that Susie McCumber would continue to frequent, not to mention tell all her friends and clients about,and that was the California Coffee Café and Bistro.