What do you do when a referral goes wrong?

Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.

- Bill Gates

When you give a referral, your reputation is attached to the referral. Whether you agree or not, it is. Your trusted network is a powerful tool and being a person who is a “connector” to others makes you a valuable asset to your clients and your peers. It takes a lot of work and effort on one’s part to become that person that people turn to when they need something.  Most of us would like to stay that way.

With that being said let’s look at the process before you refer someone.

First question is, have you vetted the person yourself? Vetting is the process of performing a background check on someone before offering them potential business. You can do this in various ways.  Have you had a one to one with the person? Do you understand their business?  Have you used their service before? If so how was your own experience? Have you checked their person and professional references? Are they someone that is a reflection in the community of how you do business? Have you looked at their reviews on Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp or Angie’s List? If they have a negative review have you asked them about the issue and how it was resolved? If you haven’t done the above or a variation of above, then you might want to pause first before you make that referral.

What happens when you connect a vendor to a particularly valuable client and the vendor falls short? What you might want to do is hide your head in the sand. But let’s face it, we all know that is not what we are going to do. When a referral goes wrong it usually isn’t the person that you referred that gets the bad reputation. It usually is the person who does the referring that gets the brunt of the situation. Many times, people aren’t even aware that something is happened until it’s too late.

1)     Step Up- Put yourself in the client’s shoes. You would probably want to receive some help from the person who referred you. Although it isn’t your direct fault, the perception is you indirectly had a part in it. You must be willing to put in the effort in facilitating to get a resolution.

 2)     Make it Right- Do what it takes to make it right with your client. This means follow through the process to resolution. If in the end, you cannot help the outcome that is acceptable to your client at least extend an offer to do something additionally to bring the client value or closure.

 3)     Reevaluate the Relationship- Look at the situation. Could it have been handled differently? Was the individual willing to bring the issue to a resolution that was acceptable for both you and your client? What characteristics were you able to see that you might not have seen prior? What does your instincts tell you about this person? Was it an honest oversight?

What I want you to take away from this is, things do happen. Referrals go both good and bad. I want you to understand what measures you can put in place before you make referrals. I also want you to have a plan in place for what happens if they go wrong.  

Business networking whether it is with friends or business associates is a part of our everyday life.  Networking is about being genuine and authentic, building trust and relationships while seeing how you can help others. Make sure you are networking with groups that will help you get what you are looking for. As well as being aligned with who you see yourself as an individual and professional while aligning with the integrity of you and your business.