Asking clients for referrals

I've launched a new page on Facebook for people to share links, videos, blogs and ideas on networking and referral strategy. You can find the page at www.facebook.com/networkingstrategy.

One of the features of the new page is a Discussion section, where I have invited members to post questions and tips on networking and referrals.

At the weekend, Nikki Pilkington asked the following question:

Andy, in all the time I've known you, you've taught me that referral networking works - and it's true. But how would I go about asking current clients to pass me referrals without making them feel obliged or hassled? Thanks in advance for any insight.

Hi Nikki

Two bits of simple advice to get you started:

- Don't treat everyone as equal
- Keep it simple, make it easy.

1 - Don't treat everyone as equal

Many businesses institute 'get a referral' schemes targetting their clients as a general body, perhaps by offering an incentive if they refer, or asking for help 'if you are happy with what we do'.

Such impersonal schemes are easy to duck. If you're not asked directly and personally, it's not difficult to press 'delete', and very tempting when you are busy!

In other cases, businesses will ask clients individually, but use a general approach. The most frequent example of this is the set of questions at the end of every meeting. You know the form:

"Are you happy with what we did?"
"Do you know any one else who would benefit from this?"
"Can you give us their names?"

At best this approach provides a list to cold call, but can often make the client uncomfortable. After all, you have been there to help them, not the other way around.

Instead of these general approaches, think of each client individually. Ask yourself how much they would WANT to refer you (in other words, how well do they like and trust you?) and how well they understand HOW to refer you.

Focus first on improving these two areas where necessary. There's no point just asking for referrals from people who don't feel comfortable or able to do so.

When you have done that, you have two more questions to ask yourself. The first one is to ask who they know, which I'll come onto in a moment. The second is what can you do to inspire them?

There are a whole range of answers to the second question, running from simply asking to referring them and, in certain cases, financial incentives. The key is that the response is personal to each potential Champion, not a 'catch all' approach that catches none.

2 - Keep it simple, make it easy

The easier you make it for someone to refer you, the more likely it is that they will. A general request often produces nothing. If I asked you for an introduction to everyone you know who has a telephone, how much work would be involved for you helping me? Too much to justify you doing it!

A specific request that is tailored to that person's network is the best approach, hence 'who do they know?'. Be very clear about who you want to speak to and why and it will be much easier for them to make the connection.

The more personal your approach, and the more focused your requests, the more success you'll see.

I hope this helps.

Are you Referral-Aware or do you have a Referral Strategy?

I was discussing referral strategy yesterday with someone I had, appropriately, been referred to by a client. The company are a sales-focused company with a strong referral awareness, yet it became apparent that despite that awareness there is no strategy. That shortcoming is potentially leaving a lot of business untapped.

What was very interesting was the fact that well over 50% of new leads generated comes from cold-calling and, when asked, he was unable to name the company's top referral sources. While the company is referral-aware, the activity they follow is simply asking for a couple of referrals at the end of the meeting. Every member of their team knows that they need to do this yet, as I have discussed elsewhere, while that approach will produce some results, it is far from the most effective tool available.

Towards the end of our conversation we talked about the best ways and times to inspire our clients to refer us.

"It's interesting", he said. "We only ask our top clients to refer us once, and that's when we first meet."

A good referral has two key elements.

- Someone has to have a high degree of trust in you to refer you with confidence. The more they trust you and want to refer you, the more likely they will and that their referrals will convert and you will retain the ongoing business.

- The person referring you knows who you are looking to meet, why they need your help and how you can help them. In short, they understand how to recognise and convert opportunities to refer you.

When you first start working with a client the levels of trust and understanding are a long way short of where you hope they will be as the relationship between you matures. Asking just once, at the start of the relationship, misses the opportunity in two big ways. They are asking when people are less likely/interested in referring them and they are not asking when people like them enough to help and know how to.

Who in your network, or among your clients, knows, likes and trusts you enough to refer you, yet you never ask them? How many people have you asked for referrals before they've had the chance to build that trust or really understand your business? How successful were you?

It's not enough to be referral-aware. You need a referral strategy, or you'll be leaving business untapped and money on the table.

The Secrets to Successful Connecting - Jill Lublin

I'd like to welcome a guest blogger this month. Jill Lublin is a renowned US author and has just published her third book in the States, 'Get Noticed… Get Referrals: Build Your Client Base and Your Business by Making a Name for Yourself'




Connecting is the art of building relationships; relationships that last. It’s the forming of bonds with people that can grow into deeper, closer, more meaningful relationships.

Making close connections is essential because people prefer to work and interact those with whom they feel connected. They share common interests, feelings, values, and beliefs. They trust them and want to help them more. Instead of concentrating on closing one-time sales, it is better to build close, long-term connections that will endure.

Be honest and build trust. Exaggerating and falsifying may help produce quick sales, but over time, they will do you in. Overstating and failing to deliver as promised kills relationships because customers want what they were promised. Few will continue to conduct business with those who have not kept their word. Not delivering precisely as promised is the best way to ruin your reputation and brand.

To create solid connections, follow these suggestions:

• Perfect your art. Deliver top quality. Do what you do excellently, as well as it can be done. “There is no substitute for quality,” T. Harv Eker states. If the quality you provide is outstanding, you don’t have to do lots of networking. People will network for you. They will tell others about you and recommend you. People love to refer others to those who provide the top quality.” It makes them look good.

• Stick to the facts. It’s easy to exaggerate and promise more than you can deliver, but it doesn’t pay. Be honest. Connect with potential customers by telling them the results your goods and services have achieved. Better yet, document the results, put on demonstrations, and show them proof. Provide them with endorsements from satisfied customers; take them to sites to your goods or services in operation with other customers. Then explain to your prospects exactly how you can help them.

• Don’t promise too much — especially if you may not be able deliver. Be completely honest. It’s better to lose a sale and stay on good terms with the prospect than to land the sale and subsequently alienate the customer. If your honesty costs you a deal, think of it this way: the customer may remember your truthfulness and call on you again. However, if you over-inflate or fail to deliver, your future with that prospect will be doomed, over, kaput. Plus, aggrieved customers tend to tell their friends about their dissatisfaction — especially when they feel they were intentionally deceived.

• When you’re looking for business, offer your goods or services at an attractive price. Be fair and don’t gouge; build trust. Give potential customers a price incentive for giving you their business. When you have performed well for them, you can use them showcase to sell future customers. You will also have forged connections with satisfied customers who will give you repeat business and recommend you to others. Ask satisfied customers to give you endorsements or letters of commendation. Have them write on their letterheads how excellently you performed. Post the commendations on your Web site, hang copies in your office, and keep them in a scrapbook that you can show potential customers. Insert them in your brochures and sales materials.

Your Outlook

Remember back in school how different personalities emerged and distinguished themselves. Every school had characters such as the nerd, the rocker, the jock, the babe, and the brain. Yet the one we tend to remember most fondly is the clown.
We all noticed the clown because he made us laugh. He connected with everyone through his humor; by making everything funny. The clown could make the most ordinary situation, the gravest circumstance, and the blandest personality absolutely hysterical. During the darkest moments, his quips broke the tension and lightened the mood. Humor was his focus, his outlook, his forte. His wit was what distinguished him and how he connected.

Great networkers also have special outlook. Like the clown who instinctively looks for humor, networkers are programmed to connect people. Great networkers constantly try to meet new people, learn all about them, and link them so that they can build close, mutually-beneficial relationships.

Distinguish yourself and boost your business by developing a connecting attitude. Be pleasant, friendly, and fun. People like to be with and do business with those they like, not with grouches. Train yourself to be a connector; develop a connecting frame of mind by constantly thinking in terms of whom you can connect. Here’s how to proceed:

Make two lists:
1. List people you would like to meet.
a. Create a plan to meet your targets.
b. Identify those who could introduce you to your targets or people who could
connect you to them.
c. List what you have in common with your targets such as common:
i. Friends.
ii. Businesses.
iii. Backgrounds.
iv. Interests.
v. Values and beliefs.
2. List people that you could connect with each other. List what they have in common:
a. Friends.
b. Businesses.
c. Backgrounds.
d. Interests.
e. Values and beliefs.
3. Create a plan to connect those individuals.

Connecting is addictive. When you make a strong connection it’s so satisfying that you can’t wait to do it again. It’s also rewarding because people are grateful for your efforts on their behalf. Successful connections motivate; they make you focus more on connecting and bringing more people together.

Since connectors are always trying to make matches, they become possibility people. Possibility people explore, try, and make things happen. They push the limits and don’t immediately accept “no” for an answer.

Possibility people stand out because they’re optimistic and more likely to achieve. They also tend to be creative, resourceful, and inspirational. If you want to increase your business referrals, develop a connecting outlook.


Jill Lublin is the author of two national best selling books, Guerrilla Publicity (which is
considered the PR bible and is used in university marketing courses), and Networking Magic (which went to #1 at Barnes and Noble). She is a renowned strategist and international speaker.

As the CEO of the strategic consulting firm, Promising Promotion, Jill has created successful techniques that implement bottom line results. Jill is founder of GoodNews Media, Inc., a company specializing in positive news. She is currently the host of the nationally syndicated radio show, Do the Dream, where she interviews celebrities who have achieved their dreams. Jill has recently been featured in the New York Times, Woman's Day, and Entrepreneur Magazine, as well as on ABC, NBC, CBS radio and TV national United States affiliates. Get Noticed…Get Referrals,

Jill’s third book, was just published by McGraw-Hill. Website: www.JillLublin.com

For more information about Jill Lublin Author of Get Noticed… Get Referrals: Build Your Client Base and Your Business by Making a Name for Yourself (Touring July 7 - August 1) visit http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/06/jill-lublin-author-of-get-noticed-get.html. We invite you to visit various blog tour stops throughout the month to learn much more about Get Noticed… Get Referrals.