2010 has been a whirlwind of activity.   We’ll see if the old cliche, “…where there’s smoke, there’s fire…” will be true for 2010 but it’s trending that way.  With all the activity, I’ve been more reactive than proactive on sharing my thoughts.  However, there have been 3 really interesting articles that I’ve stashed away to read again when I’m in a contemplative mode.  Here they are, what do you think?

• Guest Article: “Send Me a Proposal,” by Chris Lytle – I really liked this one. Many times, I see sales tips that are regurgitated from last year’s sales tips. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to get a reminder of the basics every once in a while. But this post by guest author Chris Lytle is more than that, which is why I want to share it with you!

• Fire Any Customers Lately? – When the economy is just recovering, are you ready to consider firing a customer? I’m sure your tech support department can give you a list of the high maintenance customers to cross-check that against your lowest value customers and there you have it … the customers that need to be fired.

• 10 Free Online Sales Tools for 2010 – Are you using these tools yet?  Of the list, we’re already using Google Analytics, Jigsaw, Hoovers and Zoho CRM.  I’ll have to nudge Geoffrey James on two things – why isn’t Inquisix included and why does he continue to force me to hit the <next page> link so many times?  10 tools & 11 (short) pages to click on.

How do you treat long-time customers when the economy is this challenging?  Are you tightening the rules to manage costs or are you more liberal in your policies?

I went to a business that I had purchased from for many years but not over the last year.  They greeted me warmly as if I had just talked with them yesterday, with no hint of criticism or complaint in their voice.

Later that day, I went to another business that I also frequent often.  They know me well enough to recommend new products they think I’d like.  And they know I’ve referred other customers to them. I was 90 minutes late in returning an item I had rented and they wanted to charge me another full day.  It’s their policy and it’s posted.  When I asked for leniency, the owner’s reply was, “It’s our policy and you need to pay.”

The next day I received a rather large bill.  I had made a mistake in understanding the rules so the bill was correct if unwelcome.  When I asked the Accounts Payable person for some flexibility, I was flatly turned down.  When I asked to speak to the owner, I was told that he refused to discuss these issues with anyone.  “Even customers who’ve purchased from him for 20 years?” I asked.  The answer was, “Yes.”

The economy is going to get better.  I will spend more money.  I will continue to make referrals to my vendors.  Which vendor mentioned above will continue getting my business and my referrals?

Two blog postings on referrals hit my blog reader this week. Is this national referral week?

One from Paul McCord over at Sales and Sales Management Blog on developing a Referral-Based Mindset.

Another one came in from Clayton Shold’s Salesopedia where he posts a podcast from Joe Heller speaking on, “Why Referrals Work Best”

Well, of course referrals work best! They always have and always will. And in these days of caller-id and effective spam filters, it’s a wonder that any cold call or cold email lands a prospect.

But I wonder if customers are really the best place for getting referrals. They’re great at giving references (assuming you deserve them) but referrals? I’ve argued before that most customers don’t have the right DNA to actively generate referrals for you. And if you read/listen to these two new blog postings, you’ll quickly realize that generating customer-based referrals is A LOT of work. Maybe cold calling might be easier for some sales reps than these programs. Or maybe using customers for references instead of referrals is a more effective plan.