Here’s a key to understanding how referrals happen! Some of you may remember the days when we went “visiting” friends and family on Sunday afternoons. We kids would all pile in the back seat of the car, fight to get a window as we’d head out on some adventure. Now mom would always be sure to take something with her to bring as a gift. It might be a dessert or in the summer a bag of fresh harvested garden tomatoes or corn.
You see, the proper etiquette was to never go see someone you care for and knock on their door with both hands empty!
So what about today… in these days of digital overload and social media blitzing, it’s even more important than ever to revert to that timeless rule that your moms lived by.
And today showing you care is so much greater than simply adding an “LOL” or cute emoji to a message. That’s a very poor substitute for building and reinforcing great referral relationships
Let me introduce you to the concept of what we’ve always called an “item of value” or “I was just thinking about you and felt that you would enjoy having this…”
If you already know the importance of first building a relationship to get referrals, then shouldn’t you be thinking about what it is that might be of interest to the person you’re trying to connect with?
Just show people how much you care
First get to know someone and make the effort to learn what it is that they’re interested in such as where they went to school, the clubs they belong to, accomplishments, hobbies, family setting, and more.
You can learn a lot about a person online, in their social media, in their LinkedIn profile and in so many other ways. As an example just take a good look around their workplace and you’ll likely see more about who they are and what’s important to them being illustrated boldly on the walls, their desk, or their bookcases.
OK, so the next time I visit you, meet you for coffee or lunch or we gather in a group, do you think I’d like to hear about you or would I rather have you ask me something about my favorite skiing destination or my son’s soccer tournament. You already know that answer.
So the more you can learn about a potential referral source’s interests and find articles, stories or relevant news and information about their interests, the more interesting you become.
Take a minute and print out an article, buy a book for them, or come equipped to talk about those things that matter to them and you’ll find the relationship will become deeper, evolve faster, and you’ll be on the way to doing something meaningful together. Sending an email… just include an article of interest to build the bridge of trust.
In reflection, I recall a client from Phoenix whom I can readily say now has become a friend. As we were getting started, whenever we talked, I brought up the subject of his college alma mater, Syracuse University. Early in our regular conversations, I raised the topic of how the “Orange-men” were going to do this coming week in the next big football game or in the NCAA basketball competition. It took mere seconds to learn and equip myself to converse about his interests and it created the foundation for a wonderful and mutually beneficial long-term relationship!
If you want more referrals, then you’re going to get there faster by becoming other-focused.
A lot has been written about the power of giving that we’ll talk about in future “tips” but for now raise your awareness on how you can become noted as the “giver” in the relationship and you’ll find your referrals will multiply.
Today, this giving process has become fully automated in the easy to use, economical, AI enabled tool you can see at www.engagepro.com. Take it for a free 14-day test drive and you’ll be amazed!