The 8-Sentence Formula For Getting Referrals
Can I ask you a question?
Do you remember the last time you saw a marketing piece from a real estate agent? It could be a billboard with a big picture of an agent saying something like “No one sells more homes than (insert agent name here)” and have a phone number. Mind you, the picture is from 10 years ago, and they could be riding in the seat next to you, and you wouldn’t recognize them.
It could be a little calendar on your refrigerator. But wait!!! It’s not JUST a calendar. On the back it has cooking measurement conversions too! Nothing says “I’m great at real estate” like measurement conversions.
Or my favorite. It could be a postcard you got in the mail with the picture of your neighbor’s home that says “Just Listed!” These always make a lot of sense because when people are looking to move, they just want to move three houses down into a home very similar to theirs!
Having been a real estate broker for 12 years, I saw it all, and at first, I did the same silly, useless advertising (if you can even call it that.)
That is until I realized, with the help of a marketing mentor named Dean Jackson, that it’s NOT about “getting your name out there.” That’s called branding and unless you have hundreds of thousands of dollars and plenty of time to build “brand equity,” then spending money on branding is one of the quickest ways to go broke.
Instead, it’s about getting your ideal prospects “name in here,” meaning, compelling someone you specifically target to give you their information and self-identify as someone who may be interested in your product or service.
One of the best ways to do that was to use stories from past clients that went through the journey your ideal client is likely to go through.
So what this looked like in my case was something like I called it my “Eight Sentence Referral Formula.” It’s great to use as an email, a postcard, in your newsletter, or even on Facebook or shooting a video that you send out and post.
In a second, I’ll give you a template you can use, but first, here’s an example of a full version I would have used in real estate.
“When Beth took a job in Chicago about a year ago, she was a little worried because she’d heard about ‘Chicago Winters,’ but after a year, she fell in love with the city and decided to buy a home instead of rent.
But Beth had a few credit issues and was still paying off student loans, so she wasn’t sure she could get a loan.
But thanks to some helpful co-workers, Beth got the guidance she needed.
She quickly got approved for a loan and found a cute one-bedroom condo that was just a few blocks away from a dog park (Beth really wanted a puppy!) and loves her new neighborhood.
All because one of her co-workers cared enough to call me up and ask if I could point her in the right direction.
Who do you know at work, or through friends, who is newer to the area and might want to take the next step but isn’t sure where to start?
Let me know, and I’d be glad to send them my free “Chicago Condo Guide,” where I go through 23 different Chicago neighborhoods and what each has to offer, including price points, social activities, and public transportation.
Shoot me a text at 123-456-7890 saying “Condo Guide” and include your name in case I don’t have it in my phone. I’ll give you a quick call to find out the best way for you to introduce me to them.”
So how do you use this? The format is simple. It’s a story of a journey of one of your successful past customers, clients, or patients. Once you identify a past customer, client or patient who was the type of person you’d like to attract here are the eight sentences.
- Sentence one highlights this person and sets the stage
- Sentence two introduces the problem they had and possible worries or doubts
- Sentence three introduces the idea of the “helpful friend” (who is the ‘Hero’ of the story)
- Sentence four resolves the problem that this person was going through and highlights the outcome your ideal prospect wants
- Sentence five again highlights the concept of the helpful friend
- Sentence six asks them to think of their version of this person
- Sentence seven gives a compelling offer
- Sentence eight tells them precisely what to do and how to do it
I also used to have a picture of the person in their new home, and of course, included the puppy in the photo.
It’s a simple and easy eight sentence formula that can be used around dozens of different situation. So try different stories to highlight different types of clients you want and send out a postcard, run a Facebook video ad, include an article in your newsletter (or best yet, all three!!!) and watch the referrals roll in.