Don't Just Pass Leads Make Real Connections

Archive for the ‘Referrals’ Category

One of the core values of REO is to offer quality connections. Many people believe a good referral is when they’re given a person’s name and number with permission to use the referrer’s name. For example: Sue gives John the name and number of a woman in need of home repair after the recent storms; and Sue says: “It’s okay to use my name when you call her”. John now has one more contact than he had before… That’s good, right? Wrong!
Below, I relay a recent experience and why just giving someone a name and number is merely a lead, not a true referral – and how it can damage your networking reputation.

Here’s What Happened…
I got a call from Joe* (who tells me he got my name from Ava*). Now, I haven’t seen or heard from Ava in 3 or 4 years. Joe* tells me that Ava thinks so highly of me and values my opinion, and that I’d be… blah, blah, blah (you get the picture). I quickly realize that Ava gave my name because my value in her list is pretty low. I’m disposable. Remember, I haven’t had any contact with Ava in years. During our conversation, Joe tells me he’s a financial planner located about two hours from Knoxville. I really didn’t want to waste Joe’s time as I’m sure he had lots of calls to make. So, I told Joe I had no interest. He ignored that and continued, by trying to set up an appointment here in Knoxville.

The Tragedy of it All…
What’s pretty sad about this type of “referral/lead/cold-call” is that it’s a “Lose-Lose” situation for everyone. Ava’s made it pretty clear that she doesn’t value my connection much – my loss.  Joe, however, has lost the most with this lead. 1) He lost valuable time on a cold-call he thought was a referral. 2) He’s also ready to lose a lot more time and money driving 2-plus hours to Knoxville to try to ‘sell’ me anyway. 3) He’s probably wondering why none of the so-called ‘referrals’ that Ava gave him aren’t panning out. So Ava’s losing credibility. Lastly, Ava’s value to me as a connection is also lost because our first “interaction” in years was a negative one. How different all this would have been had Ava just called to ask if it was a service I was interested in. In that case – everyone would have a win-win!

The Moral of the Story…
Just because you have a name, doesn’t mean it means anything. Qualifying a referral is the difference between a referral and a cold-call lead.

How to avoid this…
Call your contact ahead of time to ask if they need or want the services of the professional you’re about to refer. Confirm that it’s okay to give out their information. Let them know who will be calling and why. Also, let the person you’re referring to know why this referral is a good connection (“They need your services because…” or “They were just talking about wanting X,Y,Z product”, etc.)

The Win-Win…
If you call your contact – they think you’re a hero for respecting their time. You’re a hero for finding them someone that you’d personally refer. You’re the hero for not wasting anyone’s time. And you’re the hero on everyone’s part if it all comes together.

*The names have been changed.

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…