Hi Friends, Here is your end-of-the-week insight into what I see going on in the business world,...
Hi Friends,
Here is your end-of-the-week insight into what I see going on in the business world, what I’m thinking about, and what I’m learning about. Forward anything that you feel inspired to share. One last thing—we will be moving Fuentes Fridays exclusively to LinkedIn at the end of the month. Make sure you subscribe here.
What I’m Hearing From Sales Leaders/Professionals
This past week, I have had multiple conversations about lead generation. For some of our clients, what they implement now can still have a significant impact on 2025. For others, this is already about 2026.
What’s the difference? Two things.
- How long it takes someone to go from suspect to prospect to opportunity.
- How long it takes to go from opportunity to customer.
You can improve both metrics, and this newsletter, as well as the Maestro Mastery, focuses a lot on the latter as opposed to the former. (Rando: I feel sophisticated when I use that phrase!)
Today, though, I want to talk about a way to accelerate the former. Referrals.
It is surprising to me how few organizations have a structure around asking for referrals. Specifically, those that are proud of their products/solutions and deliver exceptional value to their customers.
That’s not to say that they don’t occasionally get referrals; I mean there is no intentionality behind how/when they ask.
There are countless statistics out there about how willing buyers/users would be to give a referral if they were asked and how few salespeople actually do so. Thus, the first step before putting a program together is just to start asking!
That likely will create a few conversations, but an intentional, well-thought-out process will be a lot better. What does the process look like?
- Research – Who is a happy customer? Why? Who do they know?
- Request – You have to ask for what you want. Be direct. Be intentional.
- Reduce friction – Write a referral email for them that they can use or edit. “Below you will find a message that you can pass along or edit as you see fit.”
- Record – Make sure you track the request and completion.
- Follow up – Let your customer know the outcome.
Want to talk more about referrals and setting up a process? Feel free to contact anyone at Maestro!
What Made Me Laugh
At some point, I either read (Rachel, this is a challenge for you)* or made up the fact that there is a scientific reason people hate the word “moist.” Anyway, not sure the alternatives are any better. Behold, “damp.”
*Editor’s note: Challenge accepted
This Week’s 40/20
For every 40 hours of work, I believe you should spend 20 (additional) hours mastering your craft. This is how I spent some of my 20 hours this week.
Often, we spend time looking at a problem without really thinking about what we are trying to solve and what the root cause is. Golf courses have been trying to speed up play for a long time. They have attempted many different ways to do this. Recently, they began looking at the problem differently. They went from “How do we speed up play?” to “How do we shorten the courses?” Or alternatively, “How do we get golfers to honestly assess themselves as golfers and thus choose the right tees to play from?” (For the uninitiated, you can hit your first shot on every hole from a different tee or distance from the hole.) They landed on asking golfers a simple question before they started the round. “How far do you hit your 7-iron?” An iron is one of the clubs a player uses to hit the golf ball. This simple question gives a good indicator of the quality of the player and where they should tee off from. It has also sped up play by 26% at courses that use it. Want to read the article? Check it out here.
Potpourri for 800
Potpourri (shoutout to Jeopardy!) is a category that covers a variety of topics.
Trying to start a new habit? This article gives you a great hack—streaks! Good luck! I am using it to break my habit of getting chip-faced every night (I love eating chips after dinner).
Quote for My Son
Every day, I leave my son a note with a quote. This was my favorite from this past week:
“The key to success is mastery. Mastery comes from consistency. Consistency is boring. Embrace the boring.”
– Me (and I am sure a million other people)
Important Note!
This month is the last month I’ll be sending Fuentes Fridays to your inbox, so be sure you subscribe to it on LinkedIn so you don’t miss anything. The posts on LinkedIn foster a lot more conversation that I think you’ll enjoy.
You can get weekly helpful information for sales professionals by following my company’s Maestro Mastery blog here.
Let me know what you think about this week’s edition of Fuentes Fridays. Which section was your favorite? How can I make this better? Shoot me a message on LinkedIn @willfuentes.
Until next week!
Thanks,
