The final key to really earning referrals.
Over the past two weeks, I’ve discussed five vital considerations to help you earn more referrals.
1. People do not talk about the ordinary.
2. When people’s expectations are met, they do NOT talk about you.
3. It’s more important to be different than it is to be better.
Click here to read that article.
4. It’s not customer service; it’s customer surprises.
5. Keep filling up the wells with water.
Click here to read that article.
There’s one final point I want to add:
6. Get your clients talking about their passions. Better yet, help them to connect more to what they love.
Our goal here is to earn more referrals and create more word-of-mouth:
Former president of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, George Silverman comments: “People talk about their passions. You can’t get them to shut up about their passions.”
Think about yourself here. You love talking about your kids, your favorite team, a hobby, your pet, favorite band, or vacation destination. Your clients like you more when they know you care enough to ask them about theirs.
One of the reasons I like my vet so much is he is one of the few people outside my family who sincerely asks me about two of the things I care about most: my business and my dog. One of my clients always asks me about my favorite team even though they are rubbish! I still appreciate him remembering.
Maybe your client is not that interested in what you do professionally. Just as you may not be very interested in what they do. So know what they DO care about most and talk to them about that!
Does everyone out there know exactly what they want in life? Does everyone out there have all the time they want to connect to their passions? NO! So help them!
a) Host client events that revolve around something your clients love. Bring people together who have the same strong interests in life. They will talk to each other and you will initiate great word-of-mouth about you! That’s one reason why target marketing works so well (all people with a common interest).
*A business owner friend of mine has several events each year at Green Bay Packer and Milwaukee Brewer games.
*A florist friend of mine hosts a variety of events on gardening, interior design, creative gift ideas and floral design followed by a 15% off everything in the store before they leave.
*A financial advisor former client of mine has hosted events at a microbrewery where clients and guests get a tour and great beer-tasting experience. How easy do you suppose it is for his clients to invite friends to that?!!
b) Be a resource to your clients. The more people you know professionally who can help your clients in areas that you do not specialize in, the better. This is a way to position yourself as more than business as usual.
Almost everyone has money worries at times – do you know people who can help your clients in those areas? Know a good travel agent or travel website for your client wanting to get away in the winter? Massage therapist for your stressed client? Friend who has in an ‘in’ on tickets for sporting events or knows about the best plays or bands coming to town? The list is endless. Create more traffic through you. Create more buzz. Very few professionals have that reputation – why not be that person? It’s word-of-mouth, remember?
c) Why not provide ideas for your clients to help them connect to what matters most in their lives in the form of a newsletter? This is valuable information that most people would welcome. They’d be happy to hear from you and, as importantly, it is something they will talk about. A few weeks ago a client of mine sent me a You Tube video from an Oprah show. The content of this was so moving I wrote to two people close to me about how much I loved them. This is not typical behavior for me! (I told my dad once right before he died.) I got a fabulous response from both people. Do you suppose I’m trying even harder to help this client get more referrals?
If you are not finding the time to do this, that’s why I developed The Loyalty E-Zine as a monthly e-zine for busy salespeople and business owners to take advantage of. Almost everyone could use more uplifting content in their lives. My next Loyalty issue will include an article about the content of that video AND a link to the actual video. Click here for more info.
You can make a huge difference for people you know.
What are you doing to earn more referrals?
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