IN sales, you refer to your friends, family and people closest to you as your low hanging fruits. If you have a fruit-bearing tree, wouldn’t you harvest the low-hanging fruits first? Of course. It’s exactly the same in sales—you initially reach out to people you know, otherwise known as your low-hanging fruits or LHFs.
But what if your reserve from these LHFs has been exhausted and fully used up? Where do you go? What do you do next?
I’ve met plenty of sellers, especially those from direct-selling industries, who suddenly felt lost upon realizing that they can no longer sell to their LHFs. Some of them eventually move to sell another product or service, while some simply fade away. This is a sad reality.
After what seemed to be a promising start of a rewarding sales career, some sellers drop out just like that.
So how do you deal with diminishing and exhausted LHFs? Let me share with you three tips.
Ask for Referrals & Introductions. Go back to your LHFs whether they’re your existing clients or even to those who initially rejected your offer. Ask for help and request them to refer you to their own LHFs. Some might hesitate, yet some will also help. Even better, politely ask if they can introduce you to them (face-to-face or online via email of group chat). This way, they are able to pass on their credibility to you.
Cross-sell. Another way to get more sales from your LHFs is to cross-sell. Cross selling is when you promote other products and services on top of what they already purchased from you. For instance, if you’re selling insurance, perhaps you can sell additional riders or sell another type of insurance coverage. Recently I changed all the tires of my car, including the spare. When I left the shop, I paid for more than just the price of the tires. I also paid for new tire valves, caps, and wheel alignment. I even almost bought a tire polisher and other car accessories. That’s what cross selling is all about!
Increase your reach. If you seem to exhaust your LHFs, then by all means increase your reach or network of friends and acquaintances. In doing so, you actually expand your LHF base.
Your LHFs should just be a “stepping stone” to a much-bigger market. The idea of selling to LHFs is not the end-all and be-all in selling. It’s just supposed to be your primary step then you move up from there—from LHFs to referrals, to referrals of referrals, until you reach the C-Suite market.
In order to do this, you need to train yourself to always take a step outside your comfort zone. Establishing a niche market is good, but never make your LHF the niche of your business because eventually, your leads will run thinly if not dry. So plan ahead by setting your sights to the bigger market. Yup, you got this!
