Do you know the number one reason that business owners don't get enough
high quality referrals?
Fear - That's it.
Now, on one hand, you might think that I mean that some business owners
are just flat afraid to
ask for referrals. There is no question that
there is a great amount of truth to that.
However, the biggest stumbling block of all is that your clients and your
referral network are afraid to refer your business because they don't
really know how to do it. You must train them, educate them, and take
them by the hand and show them how to provide you with
killer referrals.
Here's what you must do to create an effective
referral marketing
system.
1. Narrow Your Desired Referral
Tell the world you are after a very
specific type of prospect. This is a good thing for any of your
marketing efforts because asking the vague "know anyone who needs what
I do" will severely limit the number and quality of leads you receive.
Be specific.
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2. Be Able To Impress Your Referral
Impress your referral with what you are doing. Not a "I'm a marketing consultant." Something more like - "I help financial planners triple what
they charge" will make a world of difference between your referral being wowed or walking away.
Consider uncovering a statement like the one above for
your business and then print it on the back of business card in the
form of a question. “Know any financial planners who would
like
to triple what they charge?” |
Then leave some space for
someone to
write a name and phone number. This type of tool will put your
referral
program on autopilot. Now you've got their attention. Now you've given them nice tidy way to
refer you.
3. Inform Your Referral Sources What You Intend To Do With The Lead.
It could be just a simple phone call to the prospects or to offer them a free evaluation as a
gift and then add them to your quarterly tips newsletter.
Once your actions are made clear to your
referral sources,
they are more comfortable about introducing their friends and
colleagues to you. Most people are afraid that you might
hound them until they
give in. So outline your
referral marketing plan for your referral source and put
them at ease.
4. Tell Them Why They Must Refer You
You must help your
referral sources understand
how they will benefit by providing referrals. In some cases, the
motivation might simply be that they will be seen as helping their
friends and clients. Don’t overlook the power of this
motivation.
Many business owner can themselves benefit by introducing you to their
clients. On the other hand, in some cases, the referral motivation may need to
be more tangible - something like a trip, finder’s fee
or
free product.
5. Follow-up
Follow-up by thanking them and letting them know how successful you have
been because they referred business to you. Communicate with your
referral sources every step of the way. Send them movie tickets when
they introduce you to a lead and then a nice gift basket when that lead
turns into a client.
This type of follow-up will encourage continued
participation from your referral sources. The more involved you can get your
sources, setting up meeting on your behalf and verbally endorsing your
product or service, the better.
ReferralsCash recommends that you take the time to create the educational component of your
referral
system. Document each step and then go out there and boldly present
your case to your clients, referral sources, and referral network. This
is the missing piece of the puzzle for most business owners who attempt
to grow their business by way of
referral.