Referrals - How and When to Get Them
Business referrals are one of the tried and true (but sometimes frustrating) ways to grow your small business. A few years ago I learned a fact about how the brain works that when I applied it, exploded my referral business. Below, I’m going to quickly outline it for you so you can start using it today.
When and how do you bring up the whole conversation of referrals?
The first meeting is the best time in the relationship to let people know how you work. To build your business with referrals, you advise people right away that referrals are how you do business. Here’s why:
You have a center in your brain called the reticular activated system (RAS). This system is the attention center of the brain. It also functions to automatically filter out all of the various noises and distractions in life that are not important right now, so that you can focus on areas that are important.
There is an area in your brain labeled the reticular activated system (RAS). It’s been called the attention center of the brain. One of it’s numerous jobs is to selectively direct attention to things that are significant to you right now.
Have you ever noticed how, once you like a certain car, you start to see them everywhere? Did they just suddenly appear or were they there all along? Your RAS responds to your interest by making the cars noticeable. They were there all along, before you liked them but they were not important so the RAS ignored them.
Some people advocate that the time to bring up referrals is after a product or service has been delivered and the customer is happy with the outcome. However, if you do it this way, your customers RAS will not automatically work with you. Your customer has gotten their result and their mind is on to the next thing - you are automatically forgotten.
Referral System Example
Here is an example of a possible discussion that you might have with a potential client / customer, on the first visit.
The first meeting is the prime time to let customers that referrals are how you do business. Here’s a way to ask for a referral on the first meeting.
“Mr. Customer, I’m confident that if we start together, eventually you will be pleased with the results you get. I don’t take on new business if I can’t deliver a great result and provide what they need.
So, if we do business together, there will be a time when you are thrilled with who we are and what we do. We actively set it up that way.
When this happens you will probably want to talk about us to your friends, colleagues and associates. This is a good thing. As I mentioned, our business grows by word of mouth, so it is important to us that you are happy enough with our services to pay us for our work. We also want you to be so thrilled that you become one of our biggest allies and fans.
A couple of things about that. First of all, if you refer someone to us, we won’t give you a free toaster or a trip to Mexico. We provide our clients with the best pricing possible, so we haven’t built in awards, prizes or cash back if someone refers us.
If you refer us to a colleague, it will be because of a benefit you see for that colleague by working with us.
I will commit to acting professionally and with courtesy in all dealings with you… and I will offer that same level of service to your friends.
I will ask to see how I am doing along the way, to make sure that you are more than happy. Any people you refer will also get the same level of service. OK?
By planting seeds in this manner (or in your own style), you will increase your effectiveness in gaining referrals. Your customer’s RAS will automatically and most importantly, without their having to remember, respond by bringing to their attention the colleagues that will benefit from working with you.
Give it a try!
