Sphere of Influence

I stated earlier in this post that for the vast majority of small business owners, if they had 220 people that were in their sphere of influence, they would be making most or all of the money that they wanted.

So what is a Sphere of Influence as I define it?

Someone that knows you, likes you, trusts you and you have had at least 8 contacts with that person.

8 contacts...why and how is that?

Contact 1: You meet them and ask permission to build a business relationship.
Contact 2: You send them a note...nice to meet you....looking forward to learning more.
Contact 3: You call them for a meeting.
Contact 5: You meet them.
Contact 6: You send them a note after your meeting..It was nice to meet you...assuming it was!
Contact 7: You add them to your newsletter distribution list...with permission of course!
Contact 8: They get a handwritten note from you each and every month.

So, 8 contacts can happen pretty quickly and why 8? My personal experience and the experience of many other salespeople strongly indicates that after the 8th contact is when you can expect to see reciprocal business start to happen...business by referral!

How many people do you have in your SOI that know you, like you, trust you and you have had at least 8 contacts with and are now getting your newsletter and you send a note to each month?

Is it less than 220? Are you making all the money that you want to make? Humm...interesting.

Till next time constant reader...Jack