Knowing who can best refer business to you is not rocket science. Look at where you get 90% of your business and you’ll be able to quite accurately identify to whom you need to talk. The great news is that not everyone in your city, state, or country has heard of you, talked to you, or personally met you. You have more sources! Let’s take a look at some of the more obvious.
Existing Customers
Finding good referral sources is not nearly as tough as you might think if you have laid the ground work in advance. Zig Ziglar, in my opinion, is one of the great speakers, authors, and motivators of sales people of all time. He has been my sales mentor through print for many years. Zig has been quoted as saying, “If you can dream it, then you can achieve it. You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.” If the way you have been doing business already is to serve your referral sources rather than sell them, there is a good supply of referral sources neatly filed in your client database! Existing customers often make the best referral sources because you have already invested in their training. They personally know that they like, want, and need your product. They know that your presentation shows your product in a way that can be trusted. I often find that many business people have just never asked their customers to refer others to them! If you have been in the habit of selling rather than serving, this may not be as easy for you. I would consider Zig’s admonition above as a new approach.
Secondly, I would make a part of your regular sales presentation, a request for the names, addresses, phone numbers, and emails of ten of their closest friends or associates who could benefit from you the way they have. If you’re not comfortable asking for these, go back and read Zig’s quote again. If you have provided goods or services that they liked, wanted, and needed and you did so in a manner that served their interests based on listening to what they told you, you are doing them a disservice by not providing the same quality experience to their closest friends and associates. If my fishing partner discovered a new bait that flat nailed the bass, I would wonder if he were angry with me or something if he didn’t tell me what the bait was and where I could get some! If you write good business, you’ll be training good referral sources. Just be sure and complete your source’s training by asking for referrals and tell them what you need.
Networking Groups
Networking groups are another excellent source of referral sources. Networking has become one of the more popular places to meet new business contacts and develop business relationships. However, these venues require finesse in order not to waste a great deal of your time. Before attending a networking group, talk with people who already attend or have attended. Find out about the people that the group is made of. If there is not at least one of your natural referral sources in the group, spend your time cautiously. I wouldn’t disqualify the group because the group may be made up entirely of people who understand the value of doing business by referral and everyone is a potential prospect. If so, you might have just found a “Honey Hole.” (I tell you more about those later in the book). I’m always leery about networkers that use the term “lead” instead of “referral”. As we discussed in the beginning of the book, you need to decide if you want to go fishing or not. It requires a great deal of your most precious commodity, time! If the folks you’re working with don’t know the difference between leads and referrals, you have to decide if they are worthy of the time it takes to train them. People who really understand referrals call them by their right name!
