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In this fully revised edition, Bob Burg builds on his proven relationship-building principles to bring even more clients to your door and helps you attract only those who are interested in what you sell. He shows how to maximize your daily contacts, utilize your tools both online and off, leverage your relationships, and generate ongoing sales opportunities.

"If you're serious about your sales career, whether you are selling a product, service, or yourself, master the contents of this book and you will practically guarantee your future success."

--Tom Hopkins, author of How to Master the Art of Selling

"Bob Burg has long been the authority on connecting with clients and building win-win relationships. Endless Referrals should be required reading for sales professionals and entrepreneurs everywhere."

-- Gary Keller, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Keller Williams Realty Intl. and author of The Millionaire Real Estate Investor

"I've found that acquiring business is the toughest challenge for professional services providers. Thankfully, Bob Burg provides pragmatic and effective techniques to smash that challenge to bits, whether using mail, phone, email, or a polite tap on the shoulder."

--Alan Weiss, Ph.D., author Million Dollar Consulting

"Bob Burg opens the floodgates to Fort Knox with this book. I like the simple, easy to understand, practical way he outlines the exact way to find endless referrals. A treasure."

--Dottie Walters, author of Speak & Grow Rich

"A no-nonsense approach to building your business through relationships."

--Jane Applegate, syndicated Los Angeles Times columnist

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Endless Referrals

McGraw-Hill

Contents

Chapter One

The late Og Mandino was an extremely successful man. A renowned speaker and storyteller, he is probably best known as author of the classic best-seller, The Greatest Salesman in the World, a book that has sold more than 30 million copies. Yes, that's 30 million copies! And that was only one book. His others—many of them classics in their own right and all with powerful, life-changing lessons—also continue to sell extremely well.

Earlier in my career, and just a few years before Og passed away, I had the honor on several occasions of presenting just before he did at large public events. At one of these events, I told him it was one of my biggest thrills to be his "opening act"; he just laughed and said the honor was his. He was a very kind and humble man.

A year or two earlier, in July 1992, Og was the keynote speaker at the annual National Speakers Association convention. For about 45 minutes he talked about the fact that nobody who is truly successful ever does it alone. He talked about his wife, his family, his associates and friends—all the people who had helped him through the rough times and over the hurdles. And, if you're familiar with Og's story and personal transformation, you know those rough times and hurdles were many.

But What Does That Have to Do with Networking?

Let's go back to the definition of networking from the Preface: the cultivating of mutually beneficial, give-and-take, win-win relationships.

Now let's take a look at how Webster's dictionary defines the term network: 1. Any arrangement of fabric or parallel wires, threads, etc., crossed at regular intervals by others fastened to them so as to leave open space; netting; mesh. 2. A thing resembling this in some way.

Now, for the purpose of this book, let's leave out the words and thoughts in both definitions (mine and Webster's) that don't apply and keep those that do. Oh, and let's substitute the word people for the words fabric, parallel wires, and threads in Webster's. Here is what we get:

Network: An arrangement of people crossed at regular intervals by other people, all of whom are cultivating mutually beneficial, give-and-take, win-win relationships with each other.

The Basic Setup

Let's look at the first part of what we have.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Just as we are each positioned at the center of our own particular universe, each of us is also positioned at the center of our network. We realize, of course, that all the other people are positioned at the centers of their networks, and that is as it should be.

Each of the people in any given network serves as a source of support (referrals, help, information, etc.) for everyone else in that network.

Those who know how to use the tremendous strength of a network realize this very important fact:

We are not dependent on each other; nor are we independent of each other; we are all interdependent with each other.

The true strength really comes through realizing that all the people in our network are also part of other people's networks that we ourselves don't personally know. And that, indirectly, makes each of those people part of our network, too.

Sphere of Influence

Are you familiar with the term sphere of influence? Sphere of influence simply refers to the people you know—people who are somehow, in some way a part of your life, directly or indirectly (and sometimes even very indirectly).

Your sphere of influence includes everyone from immediate family members to distant relatives, close friends to casual acquaintances, the person who delivers the mail, the plumber, the tailor, the person who cuts your hair—practically anybody who in some way touches your life and whose life you touch.

Have you ever heard of Joe Girard? Based out of a Chevrolet dealership in Detroit, Michigan, Joe Girard was one of the world's most successful car salespeople. Actually, he was officially the most successful car salesperson in the world—for 14 consecutive years! That's how long he was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for selling the most cars in a year's time. And not fleet sales either, but individual new car sales. Joe Girard sold oodles and oodles of cars. My feeling, and I hope it's yours too, is that anyone with that kind of record has wisdom we should be willing to listen to, if he's willing to share it.

Happily, he is. In his book, How to Sell Anything to Anybody, Girard explains what he calls Girard's Law of 250, which states that each of us has a personal sphere of influence of about 250 people. According to Girard, about 250 people will attend your wedding and your funeral. Here's how he arrived at that number. He once asked the funeral director at a funeral he was attending, "About how many people usually come to pay their respects?" "On average? About 250," was the response. Soon after this, Joe attended a wedding where he and asked the caterer the same question, only this time, about wedding receptions. The answer? About 250 from the bride's side and another 250 from the groom's side.

In other words, according to Girard's Law of 250, everyone knows about 250 people in his or her life important enough to invite to their wedding and have show up at their funeral. Now, even if that figure seems high (and given that not everyone in our sphere of influence will necessarily be invited to our wedding or attend our funeral), the numbers do work out, and quite well.

Here's an exercise you can do to prove this to yourself. As you're doing this, don't prejudge, prequalify or for any other reason leave someone off the list. We're doing this only to make a point. You'll understand in a moment how it ties in. By the way, the following is not meant to limit you in any way; it's just a suggestion to help get you started.

First, take a pencil and paper and write down the names of those people you know who immediately come to mind. Everybody! Don't worry about whether they qualify to purchase your product or service; that's not important for right now. Write down as many of these names as you can think of. If you're like most of us, you'll find that not many people readily come to mind. You'll learn why that is in the segment, "How to Ask for Referrals (So That You Actually Get Them)" in Chapter 6.

After you've exhausted this list, then turn to your local Yellow Pages telephone directory. Go to the letter "A" and notice all the job classifications that begin with A. Go through these one by one and write down the names of anyone and everyone you know who works in those industries or professions. Now do the same with B, then C, D, E and all the way through to Z. Examples from each would be, "Who do you know who is an A—Actuary, B—Banker, C—Chiropractor, D—Dentist ...?" and so on. Write them all down. Again, no qualifying. Just write them down.

Now go to the White Pages directory to look at people's last names, beginning again with A. Who do you know with the last name, Aaron? How about Abbot, Acheson, Adair, Atkinson? And then B: Baluk, Bass, Brenner, Burns, Byers and so on. And yes, do the same with C, D, E and so on, all the way through Z.

Next go through first names. There are...