The most important part of getting referrals is making it EASY for others to open doors by being crystal clear about what you want.
With all of your contacts, your goal is threefold:
a) Identify people who sound like potential prospects
b) Identify people that they like (they are not going to refer you to a boss they can’t stand or a sibling they resent). As you use the steps below, listen for their tone of voice – how they talk about that individual.
c) Keep it simple! Narrow your ask to 1-3 people most of the time. Almost no one is going to take a week off work to refer you effectively to dozens of others.
Since no one way can work every time, here are six ways to excel in this area:
- Research/pre-planning
Before you meet, do some homework on who your client is connected to:
Google for co-workers, LinkedIn contacts, beneficiaries on insurance or pension plans. What people have they already mentioned in their life?
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