Turning a Referral into Countless Referrals

Congratulations! Through your countless hours of networking, you finally received a referral. Now what?

While you put in time, went to numerous networking meetings and events, repeated your name and what you do so many times you can say it in your sleep, the truth is, now is when the real work begins.

Now is when you separate the amateurs from the pros.

Getting a referral, getting a customer, is the easy part. It’s keeping them and adding to them that creates long-term success and builds wealth.

When you gave a referral, I mentioned that you were putting your name and reputation on the line to both individuals. The same holds true when you receive a referral. You are putting your name and reputation on the line with the referral as well as the individual that gave the referral to you.

I assure you, the way you handle this referral and future referrals will make the difference in whether you are growing your business and building success, or whether you end up spinning your wheels and feeling like you are stuck in a rut.

In business and in life, everything comes down to the quality of your relationships. The key component of any relationship is communication.

When you receive a referral, think of it as someone giving you a “precious gift.” You have been entrusted with ensuring this individual’s needs are met. By providing quality service and/or products, you will make the referral happy, retain the referral as a customer, and will likely get referrals from the satisfied customer as well.

From the time you receive this “precious gift” from a colleague, it is also important to keep your colleague apprised of your progress. Remember, your colleague is putting his/her faith in you to deliver what the referral is looking for.

To keep your colleague at ease and comfortable through the process, let your colleague know that you have attempted to contact the referral. Keep your colleague apprised of communication, or lack there of, between you and the referral.

Whether the referral results in business or it ends up not working out, regardless of the reason, your communication with your colleague throughout the process, will be the determining factor, as to whether you receive future referrals from him/her.

Here are some simple steps to ensure you are handling the referral in a way that will help you secure future referrals:

1. Take immediate action: As soon as you receive a referral, make contact right away. Whether you leave a voice mail message, send an email to schedule a meeting, or send a text message introducing your self, you want to get in touch with your colleague, providing an update on your status and thank him/her again for the referral.

Another sure way of receiving future referrals is to immediately send your colleague a hand-written thank you card and/or a gift card for the referral. Remember, you should be grateful for the referral, regardless of the outcome. You want to thank the thoughtfulness and develop a habit of getting referrals. Closing the business deal is up to you.

2. The fortune is in the follow-up. If you haven’t heard back from the referral within the first 24 hours, make another attempt. Be sure to update your colleague as well.

At this point, it’s better to ease off and give the referral time to respond. You never know what the circumstances are. There could be the pressure of a deadline, a family situation, or maybe traveling on business. Wait 72 hours before trying again. Be sure to notify your colleague of your process.

If you are still unsuccessful, continue to follow-up at a less frequent rate (weekly) until you hear back. Remember you don’t want to harass them either. Remember, most sales calls are made on the 7th contact.

3. You make the connection! Once you’ve made contact with the Referral, be sure to inform your colleague of the contact and the outcome, (i.e., we’re working together, or it’s not working out.) Either way, keep your colleague informed.

4. It’s a done deal. When you’ve turned the Referral into a customer and completed a transaction, be sure to notify your colleague again to let him/her know it was a success. This is a great opportunity to show your appreciation by treating your colleague to lunch.

At this point, you’re probably thinking, this much communication is very time consuming. Yes it is. Remember, you are building trust with colleagues and referrals. Trust takes time, energy and work! However, trust is worth the price. Once you build trust with your colleagues and with the referrals you turn into customers, you will begin to receive countless referrals.

As you build trust with your colleagues and your customers, they will need less communication and less confirmation that you are doing what you say you will do and when you say you will do it. You’ll be able to spend the majority of your time building trust with your new referrals as you turn them into customers and providers of future referrals.

As you build an Alliance Team with your colleagues, each agreeing to make referrals to one another, it also becomes easier to ask them for referrals. As part of the Alliance Team, you will have a plan to pass business to one another. You’ll have accountability with each other and within the Alliance Team. You’ll find it easier to ask, “Do you have any referrals for me this week?” and “How can I make it easier for you to pass me referrals?” With an Alliance Team, it’s ok to ask for referrals because it’s expected. It’s all part of the plan.

In life, groups, and especially in your Alliance Team, people are happy to help one another. When you aren’t getting referrals, it’s not because people don’t want to make referrals to you. Most of the time, it’s because they aren’t thinking about referrals or are simply forgetting to pass them. We all need a simple reminder occasionally. The best reminders are updates on existing referrals, thank you notes, and lunches for successful referrals. The more you appreciate your colleagues, the easier it is for them to remember to make referrals to you.

As a member of the Business Networking Formula, there are training videos and step-by-step instructions on the best way to handle referrals.

Go to www.businessnetworkingformula.com and check out some of the free networking training videos and see where there is an upcoming meeting in your area and RSVP today.

Remember, when you receive a referral, your name is on the line with both relationships. You’re building trust with both of them. You want to respond right away to the referral, following-up, and providing quality service. You want to keep your colleague that provided you the referral in the loop, letting him/her know that you are taking care of business; that you are doing what you said you would do, when you said you would do it. The better their experiences, the more likely you’ll receive regular, on-going referrals from both of them.

In building a successful network, keeping satisfied clients, customers and alliance partners takes work. However, it is a lot less work, and less costly, than constantly having to search for new ones.