2012: Ask (Don’t ‘Hope’) For Referrals
As we start out the new year, make it part of your weekly planning to decide ahead of time what you want to ask for in upcoming meetings.
This is the most important referral habit that exists: Pre-plan.
While providing great customer service (and a quality product) is a key foundation to any business, avoid fooling yourself into thinking that is enough to get all the referrals you want.
‘If I do a good job, I shouldn’t have to ask’ is a fantasy belief (for 99% of businesses) founded on that frequently weak word ‘hope.’
Yes, we all get some referrals from people without asking. We love these because they come so easily and without us having to do anything outside our comfort zone. But this experience can lull us into a false sense of security that lots of other people will do the same. And they don’t.
Why? Most people do not know WHO to refer us to and most people do not know HOW to refer us. Doing a good job will not address this.
Good customer service is very rarely enough to make our business thrive.
There’s a reason why top companies spend a sizeable portion of their budget on marketing – it helps them grow. You have to market too and referrals are free. We are all in the marketing business whether we like it or not.
In 2012 you must believe that asking for what you want is healthy.
Here are some examples from past clients of mine of healthy beliefs they had about asking for referrals:
“Why on earth wouldn’t you do business with me?”
“I am good at what I do. I know I can help people you care about AND I know I need to ask you.”
“The worst they can say is ‘I’m not comfortable.’ The best is ‘Sure! Didn’t know you were taking on new clients.’”
“I’m always willing to ask if they can help me – I just make sure I don’t make them uncomfortable. I feel like I’ve helped them so they should feel like they can help me. Man, I’m just asking.”
“If not me, then who?”
“I’m asking because I believe I can help people. I’m not trying to sell them something.”
“Get this right or fail.”
Having the right belief about asking is fundamental to growing your business by referrals.
Please forward this to those who matter to you.
Author: Matt Anderson, The Referral Authority, Author of Fearless Referrals
Copyright 2012
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are snarky, offensive, or off-topic.