Prospects who are referred to you are easier to close. You’ve probably experienced this yourself. You just finish working on a project for a client and then an email arrives in your inbox from your client connecting you to another business owner who needs your help. That other business owner, the prospect who was referred to you, just seems more eager to say yes to working with you. They are less hesitant and seem almost “ready to go.” After one conversation with you, they say yes, and you find yourself with a brand-new client. You are inclined to give yourself a pat on the back for the good job you did landing that client.
But hold on.
The truth is you didn’t have as much to do with landing that new client as you may think. Of course, the prospect was yours to lose as there are no guarantees that a referred prospect will say yes. But there is actually a more powerful force at work.
And that force is your referral source, the person who referred that new prospect to you.
There is a reason referred prospects arrive at the decision to hire you faster. Referred prospects trust you even before meeting you because they trust the referral source and the trust the referral source has in you. Referred prospects are less price sensitive because they have assigned value to you because the referral source assigned value to you first.
So, if you would like to keep receiving or even start receiving referrals for your business, here are 3 keys you need to follow.
1. Stop Asking
I know this sounds counterproductive to everything you have ever heard about referrals. The traditional advice about referrals – for decades – has always been to ask for them. You can find the “asking’ advice everywhere like this article and this source. But when you think about the human dynamic and the psychology behind why a referral truly happens, asking for a referral violates the psychology of a referral and creates an artificial referral, one that is forced into existence.
You know when a referral is artificial because you have to be the one to reach out and connect with the referral or even chase them just to get them to meet with you. This is because when you ask someone to refer you, you are asking them to come up with someone who may or may not have a need for what you do. So, maybe they give you a name just to check the box that they did what you asked, but they would prefer to avoid future asking from you. It makes most people uncomfortable. Which means that person you just asked to refer you is now less inclined to grab coffee with you the next time you invite him.
2. Know Who Your Referral Sources Are
This one is a big one because you cannot possibly generate more or consistent referrals if you don’t know who gives you referrals currently.
But let’s back up for a second. Have you ever sat down and considered where all of your clients come from, meaning the source of the client when they were a prospect? There are many ways – called sources – a person can become a prospective new client for your business. Common types of prospect sources include direct mail, print advertising, digital advertising like social media ads, speaking engagements, networking, cold calling or cold emailing, online presence, SEO and many more.
Just like it is important to know the ROI you receive from your FB ads or your sponsorship of a trade show, you should know the ROI from your referrals. Which means you need to start by tracking which prospects come through referrals and who sent the referrals. Your list of referral sources is gold for your business and not something to leave up to chance or anecdotal evidence. You need to dig to find the data of who is or has referred you. This is a list you keep in writing and update regularly whenever you receive a referral.
3. Stop Looking for the “Referral” Easy Button
Whether we are programmed from birth or just learn it through our life journey, there is a quest to see if we can find an easy button. Just one shortcut or hack to make this project or that process easier. I get it. As a business owner, author, podcast host and mom of 3 kids in elementary school… sometimes the lure of the easy button gets me too.
But knowing referrals only come from relationships, we have to realize that we are going to have to do some work to develop and nurture the relationships we have with our referral sources, or potential referral sources. Which means to cultivate consistent and reliable referrals we are going to have to spend time taking care of our referral sources, showing our gratitude, and letting them know we appreciate what they do for our business (you know, dropping “ready to go” clients into our lap?).
But as busy business owners, we need to have a systematized plan to nurture our referral sources, so we do it correctly and consistently. So, if you want to receive referrals, you must have a plan in place to be memorable and meaningful and stay top of mind in an ongoing way with your referral sources.
