131 | Building a System for Referrals and Loyalty with Noah Fleming

Noah FlemingHere is a strategy to improve your business by paying more attention to the people that already trust you.  Yes, the clients you have worked so hard to serve are your best source for natural growth.  Noah Fleming, author of Evergreen, shares with us strategies to improve loyalty and increase referrals.  We talk about some of the common mistakes that business owners make.  Noah also shares his top tip to growing his business.  I totally agree with this one approach as the most important for business owners.

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Noah’s Target Audience: Noah provides strategic marketing consulting for small – medium sized business owners and entrepreneurs since 2005. His ideal client or avatar is “the guy who runs his business from the basement office.”

Noah’s aim is to help these entrepreneurs create raving fans who want to do business over and over again – rather than a one- time shot kind of deal. It is about maximizing the value of already existent customers. Noah guides entrepreneurs in improving their marketing and building an unbreakable type of customer loyalty. This is about putting the right systems in place where referrals are a BIG part of it. For example, simply picking up the phone and asking a former client of yours whether they know of anyone that can benefit from what you offer is one consistent habit to maintain. He advises his clients to make 3 referral- based calls a day.

How does Noah get the existing clients to go deeper and continue the work? Noah shares that the businesses getting strong word of mouth are those that embrace community. Something as simple as sending out regular newsletters embraces community. Elements of a newsletter to embrace community should include: testimonials (for social proof); offer; what’s coming up; and referral bonuses!

Then there is the subject of CONTENT. This is the thing we give and most entrepreneurs get really sucked into that. It is crucial to focus on the emotional engagement in connecting with others in order to build solid emotional engagement with your customers.

The mistake Noah often observes his clients are making is that they are too obsessed in trying to attract new clients. He calls it “the adrenaline junkie rush of client acquisition.” By focusing on future clients, they let their old customers go. Noah advises: maximize the value with those who have decided to do business with you.

But what if your business is brand new and you have no former clients. Noah says to get absolutely clear about who exactly is your ideal client. Once they decide to accept, hold the intention to ensure it’s not just a one shot thing- focus on how to keep that relationship growing.

Noah admits that he is still in the trenches every day. He shares that every day, he tries to learn a little bit more and get a little bit better. He invests in his own self by hy having a coach. He believes there’s nothing more impactful than for an entrepreneur to invest in himself because if you don’t invest in yourself, how can you expect others to?

Noah FlemingWhy are people so afraid of investing in themselves? It seems that people lack the faith of their return on investment. This is what it means to have a POVERTY mentality because you have doubt that you can achieve. Noah says, accountability is crucial and a mentor is needed for those areas where you think you are falling short or need improvement. It’s also about trusting that you will pay back the investment you make.

 

In this episode we’ll cover:

  • Why we should be spending most of our time on gaining referrals
  • Why you should be focusing on past clients more than future clients
  • How to maximize already existing client relationships
  • How to create community with your ideal clients
  • Why Noah is still in the trenches too
  • Why Noah has a coach

Resources

 

To give Noah a shout out, follow him and send him a message. Connect with Gene too on LinkedIn or Twitter at @genehammett.

Do you have questions about today’s episode?

Did you know that you can apply to chat with me by phone? This is a limited time offer to help anyone that is serious about refining their business as well as developing a clear & compelling strategy that will drive them forward. Complete the questions and our team will follow up with you to schedule time for your “Vision Breakthrough Session”. These are limited to 30 minutes, completely free and oh, so valuable. Apply Now!

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