How To Turn On A Stream Of Referral Flow: Part 1

No matter what your type of profession, whether it's a white collar or blue collar industry, you can place ads with your mug and your contact phone number all over the place, both online and off. But that doesn' mean people will call you. And it certainly doesn't mean they will send you any referrals. The fact is, you're likely to be ignored for referrals worse than had you just done nothing at all!

Those professionals who are using a referral system and generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in new referrals each do one thing that others overlook: They position themselves and their company's as experts. This contributes to referral flow. The reason this encourages introductions and referrals follows this simple equation:

A + B = C. Allow me to explain this, as it relates to active referral generating activities.

A = Prospects Seek Help (Pre-Referrals)

The 'A' represents people who would be your prospects are people generally in need of help. They have an issue or problem and need a solution that will meet their needs. They may not be thinking about being referred or even asking for a referral. But they are open to referrals.

As an example, these people may be chatting on forums, sending emails and articles out, writing reviews and perhaps even complaining and explaining about their needs. Referrals begin to take shape. For example, maybe their software doesn't work right or maybe they need a guide to explain the latest SEO (search engine optimization) strategies that work best. Regardless of the problems and issues of focus, these people need help. The natural evolution of this creates a spark that encourage referrals.

B = Quick Finds (Current-Referrals)

The 'B' represents where these people search for help and how. Most often in this age of the click, for instant Internet info, people want fast solutions. They have little patience. So this means they will probably seek quick answers for the problems where they are complaining. This creates opportunities for them to be open to discussions about introductions and referrals.

This is similar to your being starving while on the road, going on a long trip. You may not know exactly what you want, but when you near an exit ramp on the highway and know the next exit is well over 100 miles away, you pull off for food, noting a couple of eating establishments listed on a billboard just before the exit.

C = Solutions (Action-Oriented Referrals)

Now which eating establishment do you choose? This is 'C.' You note a McDonald's and a place called, Ma and Pa's Roadkill. Now McDonald's may not have been your first or even desired choice. However, you have no idea who Ma and Pa's Roadkill is or why it's off in the back of a wooded area, not well lit, either. You are traveling alone and from five states away and never heard of them; you want no risk of getting sick while en route nor of chancing something that may taste awful, and you want to be safe. So you go to McDonald's because trust is issue, reliability, safe transactions, etc. are all important.

Bottom line in generating consistent referral flow: reliability, and trust which serves a prospects needs to meet them in a satisfactory manner.

Positioning yourself and company is more important than advertising. It is critical to generating consistent rferrals. So, are you presenting yourself and your company as a 'C' or not? Have you begun to turn on your stream of referral flow?

Look and see!