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Marketing researchers at Texas Tech discovered that for the average business, 83% of the clients/customers would be willing to provide referrals to that business. Every businessperson, salesperson, and professional knows that building a business through referrals is the most cost-effective, time-effective, and enjoyable method. However, most do not have any type of formal process to make referrals happen.
When you have a client or customer willing to refer you to others, are you taking the time to use a process to turn that referral into an introduction? Is you referral source creating a strong connection that gets your prospective client to return your call or reply to your email?
When the Food and Drug Administration is looking to approve a new drug for the market, it is evaluating that drug on two primary criteria. Is the drug safe? Is the drug effective? I believe that should be our guiding philosophy as we create introductions to prospective clients. The introduction needs to feel “safe” (meaning “comfortable”) to all parties. And, of course, we want the introduction to pique the interest of the new prospect so they’ll open up some of their valuable time to us.
Here are five critical actions you can take to turn a referral into a quality introduction:
Ask the following power questions:
“What’s going on your life that’s important to you?” Then, if you can, tie the solutions you provide to what is most important to them.
“What do you like or admire?” Using this information can help you build more initial rapport quickly and can often be a source of humor on your first call – which relaxes all parties.
Take the answer to this question and craft your approach to your new prospect.
Give your clients a chance to protect their relationships while putting in a good word for you. Say something such as, “My guess is that George would prefer to hear from you before he hears from me. Let’s talk about how you introduce me to George so he feels comfortable and we pique his interest in hearing from me.”
A typical in-person introduction might take your client and their friend to lunch. Don’t talk business, unless it comes up from their side. Avoid giving any advice until you learn more about their situation.
Discuss what the client is likely to say to their friend and how their friend is likely to react (receive the referral). Say something like, “What do you think you need to say to George to get him to take my call? And how do you think he’ll respond to this introduction?” This helps your client make the best possible introduction.
Set a timeframe for the introduction. Say something such as, “When do you think you’ll have a chance to leave a voice mail for George so I know when to follow up?” If the client wants to have a real conversation with George – not just leave a voice mail or send an email – then say, “When do you think you’ll be able to speak to George about this so I know when to follow up?”
There used to be a time when we could pick up the phone, call a prospect, have them actually pick up the phone and get the conversation started. These days, it’s so hard to reach people we need to have someone who values our work, and say to their colleagues, “Take her call. It will be worth 10 minutes of your time.” The five action steps above will help you do just that.
Bill Cates, author of Get More Referrals Now and Beyond Referrals, works with businesses, sales people, and financial professionals who want to grow my acquiring more high-value clients through referrals and personal introductions. Tap into his many free resources at www.ReferralCoach.com.
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