Referral Flood Blog

How Will You Know When To Refer Me

Quite often your referral sources don't get asked the perfect referral question.

In other words, people don't always come right out and say, "I don't think I am getting the performance on my investments that I should, do you know a good financial advisor."

If they did that, and you were a great financial advisor, referring you would be a piece of cake.

A cry for help is usually more cryptic than that, so you've got to train your referral sources to look for the clues you've grown to hear.

A prospect says, "Oh, I don't need to worry about estate taxes, all I have is retirement assets and insurance." Now, you know that this is a great selling clue because insurance proceeds go into the estate and maybe the estate taxes.

So create a sheet you call - "Think of us when a friend or associate says:" - Then make up a list of the big triggers you know about. Things like events, lifestyle changes, money matters - whatever makes sense for you business. You know you've heard them a million times.

In my business, if I find a prospective business that is doing well, but admits that they "want to take it to the next level" I am pretty certain they are ready to listen to what I can do for them.

Just play back some of the conversations you've had with clients or think back to the networking events where you've been on the lookout for selling conversations and put those clues down on paper for your referral sources.

Hey, by the way, I just released a digital version of Referral Flood that is available for immediate download and comes with a little smaller price tag than the printed version

The Value Added Referral Machine

Want a powerful way to add value to your product or service or gain some new customers in a real hurry?

Pump up the value

Go out and find businesses that serve your very same target market and get them to agree to give you some sort of free product or service that either compliments what you sell or at the very least is of interest to your target market. It can even be a trial vesion of a product.

Lets say you are a graphic designer. Do you think you could generate some new clients if you advertised 500 free business cards with each new logo design? Trust me, there are quality print shops out there that would love to partner with you on this. 500 business cards cost them about $15 to print. Any savvy print shop owner would understand that is a fair price to pay to acquire a new client. Dare I say win/win?

Gain new clients

So put the shoe on the other foot. Go out and offer to provide a service to businesses that serve your market and prepare to be introduced to some new business immediately. Lets say you are a marketing consultant. Go to some local small business accounting firms and offer to complete a small business marketing audit for each of their new small business clients for free!. Its a pretty compelling offer.

    * Real Estate agent and maid service

    * Remodeling contractor and window cleaning service

Anybody sell affiliate products like software applications? Produce a training screencast or tutorial or offer to install the application for free and give people a reason to buy the product from you!

Imagine if you got really aggressive about this how much value you build around your products or services. This tactic alone could make you the obvious choice when a prospect goes out shopping.

Okay, so this seems like a good time to mention that this is just one of the many referral techniques found in Referral Flood

An Over The Fence Referral System

This happens every day in every neighborhood in America.

I was grilling some steaks last Saturday when a new neighbor leaned over our adjoining fence to introduce herself. We chatted for a moment and our dogs got to know one another and then she asked me who I used as a vet. (The Over the Fence Referral!)

As it turns out I love my dog's vet and would recommend him to anyone who asked. (That's Steve White at Fairway Animal Hospital)

But, here is where it gets interesting.

About a week later I got a letter in the mail from Fairway Animal Hospital letting me know that I had received a $10 credit on my account because I had referred my new neighbor Lynn to their practice.

Okay, let's recap what when on.

    * My vet asks every new client where they came from. Simple as this is, it's the key to his system.

    * I get some appreciation for sending a referral

    * I got a marketing contact from my vet

    * I tell my new neighbor about the referral credit

    * She refers new clients too

It's not rocket science people. It's a system.

See Compliments For What They Are

If you are like most, when you receive a compliment, you look down at your shoes, shuffle your feet, get a little blushy and stammer something like, shucks, it was nothing. That's the way most of us are wired, taught by our parents to accept compliments begrudgingly. As a marketer, I'd like to suggest that you start looking at compliments as marketing moments of opportunity.

I believe that when a client reaches out and tells you that you did a good job for them, they are asking you to take the relationship up a notch. Don't let the opportunity slip on by. You've got to get straight in your head that this is the perfect time to ask for and receive a testimonial, a lead, new business or a referral. You don't have to fall all over yourself acknowledging how smart you are. You can seize the day tastefully by simply being prepared to suggest that your client might know someone else who would like these kinds of results.

The best time to enter the house is when the door is open

Raise prices and get more referrals

Eventually you’ve got to raise your prices. You’ve held on for five years now because the last time you asked your clients to allow a $5 increase they screamed and moaned for weeks.

Here’s a solution that will allow you to boldly hike the price and increase referrals at the same time.

   1. Raise your prices – today – and go out and land some new clients

   2. Go to your existing clients with a good news bad news message – First the bad news. Costs have gone up so much that you are forced to increase your prices, but the good news is that you have a way for them to continue to buy at 1999 prices.

   3. All they need to do to get the lower price is refer you to two other prospects just like themselves.

When you take this approach you move the discussion away from the price increase and towards a way for them to save money. Of course the newly referred folks that come by way of this promotion all come in at the higher price.

A Blog Network for Referrals

One of my favorite referral marketing strategies involves forming a network of businesses that can help your clients and formally finding ways to refer those providers when your client needs them.

So, the electrician has a handy list that includes a plumber, heating contractor, roofer, landscaper and anything else his clients need. Then, since they already trust him, they trust whoever he refers.

Now, let's add blogging to the mix. What if you were an accountant and you started a "Small Business Survival" blog and invited your most trusted advisors to author blog posts on ideas that pertained to their expertise. You would cover taxes and accounting and you would invite a marketing pro, lawyer, financial planner, computer technician and executive coach to add content with you.

Your target market gets the benefit of great content and you and your referral network become the preferred small business resource. Oh, and I'll bet you can get the home town business paper to write a story on this unique marketing approach.

Most of the blogging software allows for multiple authors. The Professional version or TypePad does this quite well and still allows you to maintain control of the blog.

Cultivate a Culture For Referrals

Referrals don't just happen. Well, that's not entirely true. If you are doing a good job for your clients, the occasional accidental referral will likely come your way.

The idea should be to make referrals happen intentionally. I work with a large number of independent professionals and they seem to have this deep belief that asking for referrals is somehow a bad thing. Get over it. If you provide a service that brings some good into a person's life, or perhaps even the world, then you owe it that client to make sure that their friends, family and associates receive that good as well.

      So, how do you create a culture of referrals.
    * Make it part of the deal - introduce the fact that you work primarily by referral at the very first contact with a prospect.

    * State it in your marketing materials - Stamp "We love referrals" on your envelopes before you mail them.

    * Make it part of your networking message - "Hey Bill, how's it going?" "Business is great but we are always looking for more people who want financial independence."

    * Approach it systematically - Hold referral lunches with your clients. Let them know that once a year you will meet to strategize about referrals.

    * Teach it - Teach your vendors, clients, partners how to refer you and how to get referrals themselves.

    * Give Referrals - One of the greatest ways to cultivate a referral mentality is to be on the lookout for ways to refer others.

Connect Your Clients For More Referrals

I was just wondering, how many of your clients have never met each other?

One marketing strategy that I often recommend involves bringing small groups of your clients together to meet, network and generally discuss how brilliant you are.

No, really! Have you ever considered putting together a lunch a month with the express purpose of introducing your clients to each other. In all likelihood they share the same challenges, frustrations and passions and, may even find that they can strike up a mutually beneficial relationship on their own. How's that for adding value.

One way I like to position these types of meetings is to work them around a theme of referrals. Make the "user" lunch about helping you grow your business. It is amazing what will happen when a group of like minded clients get together and start swapping stories and strategies about how they can help you build your business. You may even find a little competitive one-upping will occur with you as the benefactor.

Look, no matter what the purpose of these types of events, the relationship you have with each client will grow when you extend this level of trust and ask for this kind of participation.

Referral Marketing Interview with Marketing Sherpa

Anne Holland and her staff at Marketing Sherpa are some of the hardest working media folks you will ever encounter. The shear volume of quality content they crank out in their various newsletters  and such is breathtaking.

Recently, they contacted me to talk about referral marketing. For a limited time you can view my interview with them.

When you’re there, I suggest you get on several of their email newsletter lists. And did I mention that the reader's of Marketing Sherpa recently voted my Duct Tape Marketing blog Best Small Business Marketing Weblog. . . I'm sure I mentioned that before though!