It's been said to me, several times, angrily, "I would NEVER refer MY customers to my competitors!"

I've heard it again and again, whenever I try to share with other business contacts, my belief that I need to do my best to help meet my customers needs, even if it means I need to send my customer to one of my competitors.

"It makes no sense" I am told! They say "I am cutting my own throat, if I send my customers to some other business!"

But, do I send my customers away, to some other print shop in town, and hope they will still continue to do business with me? Yes, I do, and yes, they do keep coming back!

Borrowing from a competitor.
On occasion, we have found ourselves completely out of a certain kind of paper, so we call around to some of the other print shops in town, and try to find, and purchase, or borrow the paper we need from them. (Our own paper supplier is located in a major city, 80 miles north of our town. We can order from them and have it usually within a day or two.) But, If a customer needs a certain kind of paper, and a certain quantity of paper, today, and we don't have it, we'll call up our competitors and see if they have it! Then, we either drive to their shop, buy it and bring it back to our shop to sell it to our customer or we will send our customer to their shop to get it!

Refer customers to other businesses.
If a customer has a need, and if we can NOT meet their need, we can either (1) Tell them we can't do it and send them away,.. or (2) Try to find someone else in town who CAN meet their need! If you do #1,... customers will leave your shop, unsatisfied and possibly never return! If you do #2, they will admire and respect you and they will come back, because you helped to meet their need, even if it was to send them to one of your competitors!

Recommend your competition!
Is that possible? Can you really do that? Yes,.. if it's something that your competition can do better than you; If your competition can save your customer some money; If your competition is not as busy as you are, so that they can serve your customer faster, you bet I will, in a second! Why make my customer wait for me to get to their order, if I can send them to someone who can do the work quicker and cheaper? Will my customer appreciate that? You bet they will! Because by sending them to my competition, I am helping THEM to get what they want, quicker and cheaper, & they will thank me, and remember me, and they will come back to me!

Work with your competitors!
Get to know them and find out what they do and how they do it. Take them to lunch and try your best to make friends! It can't hurt to try. That other business might even have wanted to find out more about YOUR business, but was afraid to call! That other business person might never have found out what you do, and how YOU could possibly help HIS business! Maybe now that he knows what YOU can do, he might start to refer customers to YOU, because YOU can do something for his customers that he needs you to do! After all, he wants to meet his customers needs, too!

Ask for your competitors help!
most people will feel really important and special, if they are asked to help. Unless they are a real loner, and a real loser, most people are happy to help. If they are in business, they have helped others, and others have helped them! They have worked with other businesses in their community; they might belong to their local "Downtown Business Association", they go to meetings with other business people; they go to chambers of commerce breakfasts; participate in downtown events, etc.

If you work with other businesses, in a downtown area, or through the mails, with other mailorder business people, or over the Internet with other Internet Businesses, your own business will grow! I guarantee it! Very often, one of those other businesses will need something that YOU have in stock, and will send customers to you,.. so it can work both ways!

On the Internet, I work with other business people all the time. I give them Free Ads within MY Newsletter, and they give me Free Ads in their Newsletters! I post information about them on MY website and they post information about me on THEIR website. My name and e-mail address is currently posted on some 29 other websites all over the internet.

Find out what OTHER businesses need; what they want, and find a way that YOU can provide what they need! They will be grateful and they will do other stuff for you! Refer people to your competitors and they will refer their customers to you! It's a two way street; none of us is an island! Scratch the backs of others and they will scratch your back in return!

Gary Christensen is a Freelance Writer and Self-Published Author of 8 Books and 100+ Original Reports. Gary's newest Report, "The 10 Greatest Money-Making Secrets" PLUS his "HomeMoney Newsletter" are both completely FREE for the asking from: Gapach97@aol.com. View his new, up-dated "List of 500 Free Subscription E-zines" at his website: http://www.site-city.com/members/e-zine-master His Writers site is at: http://www.homeincome.com/writers-connection Write: Gary Christensen, PO Box 2411, Corvallis, OR 97339-2411)

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Wanda Loskot - Success Connection
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Professional business coach, author & speaker specializing in Internet marketing.
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