Have 5 coffees to grow your business...

Have 5 coffees to grow your business...

Today I have a question for you. If you met a good financial planner, a good CPA, an established business attorney, a successful insurance agent and a builder salesperson, would there be a good chance that they could refer clients to you? The answer is "of course there is".

But what if you met them in the next week and built a relationship over time. Could you refer business to them? Could they refer a lot of business to you? What if you did this every month, and by year end had 60 people in your referral sphere? Would you get a few extra deals from referrals? You would, and you might get a lot more.

The key to growing business without having to spend all your time cold calling is to receive referrals. Here are a few tips to keep in mind.

1. Referrals are a two-way street. You need to give to get, and a referral relationship is based on both parties bringing the other value.
2. Not everyone is a "giver". In fact. many will happily take your referrals without ever giving back. So build your referral network with those who get the two-way street.
3. You cannot meet someone once and expect them to send you business. It takes time, follow up, and a relationship to get referrals on a consistent basis, so put a system in place to do so.
4. Use the magic script when you meet people that could refer you business. "I think we could help each other's business. Let's grab coffee and see how we can refer each other business." A simple script, but effective.
5. Everyone wants referrals, but a lot don't know how to ask. So help them by asking for a coffee and go from there.

Besides, who does not like a coffee while chatting about business. So have 5 coffees with strangers each month... you will like the results.