Quote for the Day
“84% of people trust recommendations from people they know, making them the most influential form of advertising”
Nielsen
Boosting your Referrals
The topic for my 60-Minute Upskill session for PortfolioExec, in May, was “Boosting your Referrals”.
When I ask business people if they ask for referrals the answer is usually YES. When I dig deeper, I discover that, being British, people usually mumble something about referrals at the end of a meeting when the customer is ready to pick up their things and go.
There is a better way.
You must also adopt a Client-centered approach as opposed to a Producer-centered approach.
By this, I mean you need to look at the value you have given and ask the client if they know someone who would benefit from the same value rather than telling them you are growing your business and are asking for some help.
In my experience, 20% of your customers will refer you without you asking, 20% will never refer you, and the remaining 60% are your treasure chest of opportunity.
There are many opportunities for asking for referrals and here are some of them:
• When you teach your client or prospect something
• When you get your client or prospect to think in new ways
• When you challenge your client or prospect’s assumptions
• When you do something for them free of charge
• When you solve or prevent a problem
• When your prospect decides to become a client
• When you begin to deliver your product or service
• When you follow up
• At the annual review
• Throughout the lifetime of your client relationship
Using all the above ideas, you can boost your referrals by a factor of ten!
The five key skills you will need to generate more referrals are:
• Adopting a referral mindset – Understanding the difference between a Tip, a Lead, a recommendation, and a referral
• Enhancing your preferability – Be a good listener
• Prospecting for referrals – At the right time
• Strategic networking – Who has dropped off your radar?
• Targeting niche markets
If you want to know more about adopting and improving the Five Key Referral Skills, or are interested in being part of my Professionals’ Growth and Profits Group, contact me by email on alan@mrwcs.com or phone 07860 813444
