I have been a member of several networking groups duting my career. I also networked way before the term netwroking was in vogue. I have reasonably complete records as to where my business comes from. Alsmost 80% of my business comes on a referral basis.
But ulnlike some of the posts I have seen on Activerain lately, I rarely, if ever, actually ask for a referral. That is to say, I agree with the recent post where the writer says that it starts to gnaw onpeople if you are constantly asking them to refer business to you.
I get most of my referrals the hard way, I earn them, and, so do most of you, I would expect. These are my tried and true methods of getting referrals:
1. I try to treat each client, and each deal, as if it is the only project or person I am working on. I conscientiously turn off my cellphone during a closing. When I am meeting with clients, I tell m,y admin to hold all calls except emergency calls from my family members. That tells the client that he or she is the only matter that is important to me at the present time.
2. i really do follow up with client after a closing or the completion of an estate plan. I call; I write. if I get documents or articles that I think are of interest, I send them along. I tell them when there have been two years since they finished their estate plans. Do they want to update?
3. I give as many referrals as I can to other qualified professionals. This helps in two ways: a. it builts up a sense of gratitude that often is reciprocated with referring business and b. it demonstrates that I am making extra effort to care and feed my clients by furnishing them with qualified people who can help them.
To me, getting referrals is a natural outgrowth of furnishing good and consistent service. That is what I try to do each and every time I come to the plate, and the referral results indicate that my approachis working.
Comments(5)