Where Relationships & Referrals Meet

Archive for the ‘Referrals’ Category

What’s a Great Referral?

In my last post, I said that a referral is when

1. the buyer wants the service provided, and
2. the buyer expects and knows the seller is going to call and when

The referring person (you) has already set up some level of trust and rapport by recommending the person they’re referring.

I’ve identified 3 levels of referral: 1) A recommendation; 2) A set up; and 3) A 360° meeting.

Here’s the scenario: you (the person making a referral to one of your contacts) have found that your contact has a need for a service. You have a great person to refer them to.

Referral – 1^st Level: A Recommendation

Let your contact know why you believe your referral is the best person for the job. Share personal experience or knowledge of their work. Tell your contact how long you’ve known the person you’re referring. The better you know your referral person, the more information you can give at this level. Now you have two choices:

1. Let your contact do the work and just give them your referral’s contact info for them to call later, or
2. Call your referral and save your contact some time trying to reach them later.

Referral – 2^nd Level: A Set Up

The set up can sometimes happen before the recommendation depending on the level of trust your contact has with you.

Set Up a meeting for your referral by calling your referral while you’re still with your contact. This will save your contact time and take something off their busy plate. Two possibilities here:

1. You reach your referral. Tell them the situation and hand the phone to your contact so they can make an appointment
2. You don’t reach your referral. Leave them a message with your contact’s information and the best time to reach them. Your contact will hear you setting this up. They know to why and when to expect the call.

Offering to pick up the phone is a quick and easy way to qualify shoppers from buyers. If they’re not really in the market for the service they will say something like “No, don’t call them now…don’t know that I’m ready yet.”

Referral – 3^rd Level: A 360°

This is the highest level of commitment and referral. Three people are present (you, your referral and your contact). Your job is to explain to both parties why you think they’d work well together. After your initial introduction and rapport building you are free to leave them to set up their next step. Keep in contact with both parties to see if you can help to close the deal.

Priority #1

Referral Source –make the best and most appropriate referral for your contact.

Referral Recipient –make your referral source look great by always keeping the contact’s best interest at heart. By doing this you’ll double your referral sources – your referral source will feel comfortable referring you again AND their contact now becomes a possible referral source for you too!

I’m reminded of the heightened anxiety as Dorothy, Scarecrow, and Tin Man ventured into the dark, dark forest chanting: “Lions and Tigers and Bears – Oh, my!”

As we help each other to find more business, why would we want to send our valued referral partners into the dark, dark world of “Leads and Referrals and Cold Calls – Oh, my!” It’s a dark and dangerous business world out there full of “oh, just use my name” “I gave them your card” and “they’re going to call you” (just to name a few).

In many networking groups I often hear “I have a lead for…” and I just want to cringe! Why would you want to give a ‘lead’ to someone? After all, I can get (and give) leads from the newspaper, the phone book, or the computer (and so can you)!

The answer: because we’ve been taught 2 things:

1. That a ‘lead’ and a ‘referral’ are the same thing, and
2. That the best kind of referral is to get a name that you can use

So what’s the difference between a ‘lead’ and a ‘referral’?

Lead: a lead is information that is given where the receiver still needs to set rapport, find if there is a need, budget, set up trust and convince the buyer that they’re the best company to do the job. The person receiving a lead is on equal footing with anyone else coming in off the street (cold call).

Referral: a referral is information given where the buyer wants the service provided, expects and knows that the person is going to call them and when to expect the call. The referring person has already set up some level of trust and rapport by recommending the person they’re referring. This is no cold call.

So the next time you ask for a ‘lead’ or give a ‘referral’ – ask yourself: “What kind of business do I want people to help me find?” If you want to make ‘cold calls’ then be my guest keep using the word ‘lead’ and I’ll keep giving you exactly what you asked for.

Next time I’ll discuss the best kind of ‘referral’. Meanwhile, share with me brief stories of when someone made a great referral for you…