In this 1,500 word article, shares a story of a colleague who runs his business on the basis of 100% referrals. Referrals are the king of client acquisition methods and perfectly suit the modern consumer. Paul takes you though how you can make your business a 100% referral business.
A 100% referral business
It was proudly displayed on my friend's business card, email signature and his headed paper. It said "we grow our business by personal referrals so we can spend more time with you"
Now that's what I call being upfront. I spoke with him about his business model and he did grow his business exclusively from referrals. He ran a 100% referral marketing model and it fits perfectly the modern consumer, who is so much more in charge of the process nowadays.
In previous decades, prospecting, advertising, cold calling have all worked. But not now. The world has changed and customers will contact us when they have a need, not the other way around. In fact, customers don't really need us anymore for many purchases and the secret is to provide added value from you.
So where does a referral business fit? Because when customers have a need for you and your solution, they will take two actions to solve their need. They'll take care of it themselves via Google or find an expert who can. Secondly, they'll ask their network of friends, colleagues, family, whether they know of anyone they trust.
Now you can wait for this natural chain of events to feed you new business, and this may be sufficient for you. But most of us need more new business than relying on the natural course of events which is where a referral strategy comes in.
And my friend has mastered the art. So how does he do it? Let's dissect his strategy and model it for ourselves.
Inner game
My friend has got over the issue of potentially being rejected. He tells me that when he first started thinking about a referral only business model, the fear of rejection reared its ugly head.
Asking customers for a referral might give you a no, you might get turned down. It was this potential refusal that could have got in the way of him asking. But he mastered his inner game and no longer had the fear of being too pushy.
Referral planning
He plans to achieve referrals and like having sales targets other metrics, he aims to achieve certain number of referrals per week. He measures referrals achieved and referral appointments.
The old adage - what gets measured, gets done. And it works too. Referrals become an essential business metric
Promoting referrals - sowing the seed
Many salespeople ask for referrals, after all, we all know that it's important. But most salespeople ask too late and do so very apologetically.
My friend advertises on his business card that he grows his business through personal referrals. He's upfront about it and introducers the concept to his customers when he first meets them. He uses words which sow the seed with the customer that growing his business with referrals means he doesn't spend unnecessary time marketing, so he can spend more time with his customers. Logical benefit.
He also mentioned that he only asks for people they know, after he's delivered the very best service he can. Again a beautiful benefit, after all, any customer would love to receive the very best service. He also mentioned that he's focused on this service now and will get back to them later on.
"David, as you know I grow my business with referrals from delighted clients... that way I can concentrate my efforts on servicing my clients not marketing all the time. So, if its OK with you, I'm going to ask for some referrals from your network of people who would benefit from the value I provided.
But I'm not going to do it now, I'm going to give you a fantastic service first and provide you with some real value, and then I'll ask."
So when he does ask the customer for a referral, it's not a surprise. Clever.
So the secret is to sow the seed with your customer right up front.
Closing for referrals
Looking at the majority of salespeople when they ask for referrals reveals that a big problem is not asking in the right way. Most people can ask, it's not a difficult process, but most settle for a name and then make a call to the name.
Now this isn't far off a cold call. If you think about it, you're interrupting them with the call, and yes, mentioning their associate's name might warm a little, but it's not that different to a cold call and may get the same result.
No, my friend follows a distinct process because he's seeking an introduction not a referral. He wants the new person delivered to him on a plate. Here's how he does it.
A 100% referral business
Now that's what I call being upfront. I spoke with him about his business model and he did grow his business exclusively from referrals. He ran a 100% referral marketing model and it fits perfectly the modern consumer, who is so much more in charge of the process nowadays.
In previous decades, prospecting, advertising, cold calling have all worked. But not now. The world has changed and customers will contact us when they have a need, not the other way around. In fact, customers don't really need us anymore for many purchases and the secret is to provide added value from you.
So where does a referral business fit? Because when customers have a need for you and your solution, they will take two actions to solve their need. They'll take care of it themselves via Google or find an expert who can. Secondly, they'll ask their network of friends, colleagues, family, whether they know of anyone they trust.
Now you can wait for this natural chain of events to feed you new business, and this may be sufficient for you. But most of us need more new business than relying on the natural course of events which is where a referral strategy comes in.
And my friend has mastered the art. So how does he do it? Let's dissect his strategy and model it for ourselves.
Inner game
My friend has got over the issue of potentially being rejected. He tells me that when he first started thinking about a referral only business model, the fear of rejection reared its ugly head.
Asking customers for a referral might give you a no, you might get turned down. It was this potential refusal that could have got in the way of him asking. But he mastered his inner game and no longer had the fear of being too pushy.
Referral planning
He plans to achieve referrals and like having sales targets other metrics, he aims to achieve certain number of referrals per week. He measures referrals achieved and referral appointments.
The old adage - what gets measured, gets done. And it works too. Referrals become an essential business metric
Promoting referrals - sowing the seed
Many salespeople ask for referrals, after all, we all know that it's important. But most salespeople ask too late and do so very apologetically.
My friend advertises on his business card that he grows his business through personal referrals. He's upfront about it and introducers the concept to his customers when he first meets them. He uses words which sow the seed with the customer that growing his business with referrals means he doesn't spend unnecessary time marketing, so he can spend more time with his customers. Logical benefit.
He also mentioned that he only asks for people they know, after he's delivered the very best service he can. Again a beautiful benefit, after all, any customer would love to receive the very best service. He also mentioned that he's focused on this service now and will get back to them later on.
"David, as you know I grow my business with referrals from delighted clients... that way I can concentrate my efforts on servicing my clients not marketing all the time. So, if its OK with you, I'm going to ask for some referrals from your network of people who would benefit from the value I provided.
But I'm not going to do it now, I'm going to give you a fantastic service first and provide you with some real value, and then I'll ask."
So when he does ask the customer for a referral, it's not a surprise. Clever.
So the secret is to sow the seed with your customer right up front.
Closing for referrals
Looking at the majority of salespeople when they ask for referrals reveals that a big problem is not asking in the right way. Most people can ask, it's not a difficult process, but most settle for a name and then make a call to the name.
Now this isn't far off a cold call. If you think about it, you're interrupting them with the call, and yes, mentioning their associate's name might warm a little, but it's not that different to a cold call and may get the same result.
No, my friend follows a distinct process because he's seeking an introduction not a referral. He wants the new person delivered to him on a plate. Here's how he does it.
