
Tim's greatest referral resulted in more than a decade of business, millions in sales and trips to the beautiful Caribbean with an apartment overlooking the beach. He gained a friend in the process.
It all started with a simple comment, “Tim, a friend is in the process of planning a new food enterprise in the Caribbean and needs help. Why don’t you call him?”
Tim was excited for many reasons regarding this conversation with Jim. He was then controller at a Borden facility and they were looking to improve the business from losing money to making money.
Jim provided the initial phone introductions and gave Tim the contact information to Joe Melendez. It turned out that Joe and Tim had worked for the same company years before and hit it off immediately. They talked about his ideas and opportunity and he provided full access to his situation and needs. They were able to achieve many things working together including landing the Kmart snack bar business and Chili’s Restaurant contract.
Trust, Relationship, and Value
Trust was the main ingredient in gaining this referral. Jim trusted that Tim might be able to help his friend in the Caribbean. Joe also had a feeling of trust that his involvement would somehow help his business prosper. That trust paved the way of the relationship and the exchange of information back and forth. Success began to develop that took several months after the initial introductions.
In this on-going exchange of information, they were able to find value in Tim's offerings. After a period of many months the first container of food product shipped. That first cargo container turned into another and then another as they grew the business together. Large sales dollars in business did not occur overnight. They worked through many issues to together. Fortunately, the trust and the relationship stayed intact as they worked to provide service to their first client, a Caribbean food enterprise. Then additional clients came along in developing the young company.
Learning
The most important component to gaining and then growing this piece of referral business was the trust and on-going relationship with all the contacts involved. The trust opened the door for Jim to refer Tim to his friend in the Caribbean. And the trust of Joe allowed Tim to demonstrate and add value to his food enterprise with new products and methods of doing business.
Develop relationships of trust and bring value to interested parties. This is the basis of great referral business and everyone has the ability to develop these basic skills if they so choose. It might seem too simple a formula but trust builds the path to success.
Tim Forrest
Tim Forrest Consulting, LLC
www.timforrest.com
It all started with a simple comment, “Tim, a friend is in the process of planning a new food enterprise in the Caribbean and needs help. Why don’t you call him?”
Tim was excited for many reasons regarding this conversation with Jim. He was then controller at a Borden facility and they were looking to improve the business from losing money to making money.
Jim provided the initial phone introductions and gave Tim the contact information to Joe Melendez. It turned out that Joe and Tim had worked for the same company years before and hit it off immediately. They talked about his ideas and opportunity and he provided full access to his situation and needs. They were able to achieve many things working together including landing the Kmart snack bar business and Chili’s Restaurant contract.
Trust, Relationship, and Value
Trust was the main ingredient in gaining this referral. Jim trusted that Tim might be able to help his friend in the Caribbean. Joe also had a feeling of trust that his involvement would somehow help his business prosper. That trust paved the way of the relationship and the exchange of information back and forth. Success began to develop that took several months after the initial introductions.
In this on-going exchange of information, they were able to find value in Tim's offerings. After a period of many months the first container of food product shipped. That first cargo container turned into another and then another as they grew the business together. Large sales dollars in business did not occur overnight. They worked through many issues to together. Fortunately, the trust and the relationship stayed intact as they worked to provide service to their first client, a Caribbean food enterprise. Then additional clients came along in developing the young company.
Learning
The most important component to gaining and then growing this piece of referral business was the trust and on-going relationship with all the contacts involved. The trust opened the door for Jim to refer Tim to his friend in the Caribbean. And the trust of Joe allowed Tim to demonstrate and add value to his food enterprise with new products and methods of doing business.
Develop relationships of trust and bring value to interested parties. This is the basis of great referral business and everyone has the ability to develop these basic skills if they so choose. It might seem too simple a formula but trust builds the path to success.
Tim Forrest
Tim Forrest Consulting, LLC
www.timforrest.com
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