The premise is that people do business with people they trust or based on recommendations from people they trust, not the guy who wears a white coat in the aspirin commercial and says “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV.”

So what’s more important than the great branding and the snazzy commercials today is whether the customers have had a sufficiently positive experience that they will recommend that company to people in their “circle of trust.”

For sales people, that means paying close attention to the customer experience and making sure that it’s one that makes their clients WANT to get their friends and colleagues to use the product.

When I think of the businesses I refer to my friends, it is because those businesses have something that I think my friends could use and appreciate.

To use an example, we had our kitchen remodeled a few years back. After much searching, we discovered Kitchens by George in Concordville. Our kitchen wasn’t an easy space to work with, but Kitchens by George came up with a fantastic design that made effective use of every cubic inch in the kitchen. Even better, once they came to our house to start work, Kitchens by George demolished our old kitchen and installed our new one in ONE WEEK!

Great design and the fastest install time I’ve ever heard of — both represent compelling business values that make me happy to tell my friends to talk to Kitchens by George about their kitchen projects. (See, I’ve just given them another referral!)

Impressive!

Jerry