Continuing on the theme of things you can do to finish the year strong and start working on your marketing plan for 2011, today I want to talk about referrals. Similar to building the habit of using a marketing calendar, I believe developing good habits around asking for and following up with referrals is one of the areas where you can start to quickly see results from your efforts.
I’ve written a lot about referral marketing on this blog, but today I want to focus on building the habit of talking about referrals. I think one of the reasons that many professional service providers don’t get referrals as consistently as they should is they wait for the “perfect time” to ask for referrals. It’s hard to know when the perfect time is, so we often don’t ask. Looking back, I’m sure we can all spot times when we should have asked for a referral but didn’t. I believe that is we regularly talk about referrals, we can reduce the number of opportunities that we miss.
I find it helpful to think about creating a habit of talking about referrals rather than asking for referrals. For some it may seem like a semantic difference, but I find it there is less mental resistance to discussing topics related to referrals rather just asking all of the time. For many professional service providers, hesitation around asking for something is probably the biggest obstacle to getting referrals.
When I think of working on the habit of talking about referrals, I think about these three broad areas:
- Setting the expectation for referrals
- Asking who I can refer to them (give to get)
- Asking for specific referrals
Asking vs. Setting the Expectation for Referrals
I hear lots of arguments for and against asking for referrals at the beginning of a relationship. In my opinion, accountants, lawyers, and other professionals have more success (and feel more comfortable) setting the expectation of referrals in the first meeting, rather than asking for referrals at that time.
Asking for referrals early in the relationship puts you both on the spot. This can make both parties uncomfortable and hesitant. If you do ask for a referral and it makes your customer uncomfortable, how likely are you to ask again in the next meeting?
On the other hand, if you set the expectations properly, both parties understand their roles and willingly carry out the responsibilities they agreed to.
Asking sounds something like this – “Bob, do you know anyone else who could use my service?” or the pushier “Bob, write down 5 names of people you think may be able to use my service.”
Setting the expectation sounds something like this – “Bob, as you may know, the primary way that I market my business is through referrals. I am confident that you are going to be thrilled with the services we have agreed to today. As part of our agreement, I am going to ask that in addition to paying the fee we agreed upon today, that you also provide, assuming you are thrilled with the work we do for you, that you will also provide three qualified referrals within 90 days of of beginning to work together. Don’t worry, I’ll show you how to spot a qualified referral and how to refer them to us. Is that something that you feel like you will be able to do?”
Asking First
If you are uncomfortable asking for referrals you can build the habit of talking about them by always asking who in your network people would like to meet. Essentially, you are asking “how can I help your business?”. You will find that most people appreciate the help and will try to return the favor by referring others to you.
Be Specific
When someone does ask how they can help you, be prepared! The more specific you can be, the easier it is for the other person to know if and how they can help you. Rather than asking “do you know anyone who needs accounting services?”, ask for a specific introduction – “do you know Bob Jones?”, “Do you know anyone at Gigantic Corp?”, “Do you know anyone on this list?” People are willing to help, but they are also busy running their business, so make it as easy as possible for them to help you.
What other things do you do to regularly talk about referrals?
Did you resolve to generate more business from referrals this year? If so, you will want to grab this free e-course, 5 Tips For Successful Referral Marketing.
Last week I participated in a conversation on Facebook about a topic that I that I think a lot of business owners face, so I thought I would share it here.
