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Stop Begging for Referrals

Written by: David Frey

Article Overview: If you don't have a systematic approach for obtaining referrals, you're missing out on a obtaining predictable responses with less stress, time and effort.

Stop Begging for Referrals

Just about every course or book that deals with getting referrals teaches you one single referral method - - "asking" for referrals.

Yes, they'll teach you how you have to give good service and then they give you a formula for asking for referrals and that's all well and good....BUT...

...there's a HUGE problem with this approach. People HATE to ask for referrals. You hate it, I hate it, and the people that get asked hate it.

And the bottom line is...people won't do what they hate to do. That's just simple human nature.

Asking people for referrals is right up there with asking your friend to come to church with you on Sunday. It's downright uncomfortable.

The sad result is that people don't get even a tiny amount of the referrals they could be getting simply because the whole "asking" process is flawed.

Here's the Other Problem with Asking for Referrals...

Let's just suppose for a moment that you do ask for referrals. Do you ask all your clients and customers? Do you ask them every time you see them?

Probably not.

Why?

Because it's not a systematic process for you. There's not a bell that goes "ding!" to remind you to ask for a referral every time you're with a customer.

But if you REALLY want a LOT of referrals. I mean an avalanche of referrals, you need to have a systematic process for getting them.

Referral S - Y - S - T - E - M - S

Systems are business processes that have predictable results and outcomes because they happen the same way ever time, day in and day out.

I like to think of systems using this acronym:

S-ystems save

Y-ou

S-tress

T-ime

E-nergy and

M-oney

If you want to get more referrals you need to implement referral
s-y-s-t-e-m-s.

And the referral system needs to be "transactional" and NOT "relationship-based."

NOTE: I'm about to ruffle a LOT of feathers with this one. It goes against everything you've been taught about getting referrals.



"Transaction-Based" Referrals - The Key to Getting a Consistent, Predictable Flow of Fresh Referrals

A lot of people who teach you about getting referrals will tell you that if you nourish your relationship with your customer or client they'll give you referrals.

That's not necessarily true.

I'll bet some of your very best customers haven't given you one referral.

Why?

Because they're busy and have a thousand other things on their mind...just like you.

If you rely on just your relationships to get you referrals you'll be disappointed.

The key to getting a consistent stream of referrals is to build the referral process into the transaction!

That's right, you need to build your referral system INTO the TRANSACTION.

Here's a Great Example of "Transaction-Based" Referral Systems

The other day I received a promotional letter from TXU Energy (a Texas Energy Company).

In the promotional letter they included a leaflet that offered $40 to anyone who referred a friend and became a customer.

Would you like to see it?

Here's the front side:

http://tinyurl.com/3wwq7

And here's the back side:

http://tinyurl.com/3mynj



They also send this leaflet along with their billing statements. When someone comes out to your house to do maintenance work or respond to a call they leave behind this leaflet.

You see, when a "transaction" happens, they ask for a referral.

There's no face-to-face asking.

They don't wait until it's the "right time."

It happens every time there's a transaction.

Because of this, TXU gets a steady stream of referrals. In fact, they can predict with some accuracy that if they give out X amount of leaflets, they'll get back in X amount of referrals.

The results are...

(1) predictable

(2) consistent

(3) repeatable

Applying this Referral Strategy to Your Business

Ask yourself how you can apply this referral strategy to your business.

It doesn't matter if you're a consultant, dry cleaner, auto dealership, or even a large energy company...you can use this referral strategy.

And there's so many variations and applications of this simple referral technique that ANY business can do it.

How Would You Like to See 105 More Referral Strategies?

This is just one of more than 105 referral strategies that you'll find in the Instant Referral Systems program.

You'll be amazed at the different and unique referral systems that you'll learn from this program.

Many of the referral systems in the Instant Referral Systems Program are much more powerful than the one I've explained to you in this newsletter.

If you're a retailer, independent professional, or small business owner and you haven't invested in the Instant Referral Systems program, you're losing out on a LOT of referrals, even as you're reading right now.

So what are you waiting for? Visit the link below and learn more about the Instant Referral Systems program right now...

http://www.InstantReferralSystems.com

To your success.

Related Articles
  The Referral Habit - Sales and Marketing Training
  Increase Small Business Sales – Stop Asking for Referrals
  Getting Referrals
  Asking For Marketing and Networking Help
  Did You Get Any Referrals Today?

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Related Forum Posts
Decide your market first - Stop for a second and decide exactly who it is that you want to sell your product to. Once you've done this you'll have a far better idea of where to find them and what it is that they're interested in Cheers
Re: How do you get your clients? - I think staying away from gathering clients strictly online when first starting out is probably a good idea. Your first few clients could maybe be people you know, or know through somebody that may require some of your services. Another good way of gaining new clientel is offering your first few clients completely free service in exchange for placing your business card or promotional material in their business if you're doing b2b sales. Referrals are the lifeblood of many small businesses.
Other Great Books... - Feel The Fear And Do It AnyWay - Susan Jeffers How To Stop Worrying And Do It Anyway - Dale Carnegie ('What's the worst that could happen - the worst?' Then prepare yourself for that and reality is such a relief!).
Re: How do you get your clients? - [quote="brata":2qa58hl5]I think staying away from gathering clients strictly online when first starting out is probably a good idea. Your first few clients could maybe be people you know, or know through somebody that may require some of your services. Another good way of gaining new clientel is offering your first few clients completely free service in exchange for placing your business card or promotional material in their business if you're doing b2b sales. Referrals are the lifeblood of many small businesses.[/quote:2qa58hl5] Ive been in business for a few years and my best way to get clients is door to door so far. However as my marketing budget grows I have stopped door to door business to business sales and shifted to mailers, billboards, radio, and just a tiny bit online.
Re: New Idea...suggestions please - People, it's easier than you think in some cases. Say you are replying to a question and you are about to refer to company ABC's website. Stop and explore their site for their affiliate program. If they have one, register and use your affiliate link in your post. If this takes time, you can post a regular link first, then come back and edit your reply by swapping for your affiliate link. If you post regularly, you'll soon have accounts at all the affiliate exchanges and you'll start getting money from your referrals. How about it?


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