Are You Getting Your Share of Personal Referrals?

Six Steps to Getting Better Referrals:

Almost every successful agent I know reached their financial goals by building a solid referral-based business. Why is building a referral-based business so powerful? Because you are meeting people the way they want to meet you - through a recommendation from someone they already trust.

 Most people, if they had a choice, want to have their agent referred by someone they know and trust. Clients who come into your business through a referral are 2.5 times more likely to give you referrals. So, as you keep bringing in more clients through referrals, you develop a critical mass of clients willing to give referrals. Eventually, it takes on a life of its own and becomes self-perpetuating (if you continue to serve your clients well). For this article, I've taken some of the best referral ideas and strategies and put them into a Simple 6-step formula that you can implement right away to create a steady and predictable flow of great new clients.

Step #1: Develop a Perfect Client Profile-
One of the quickest ways to expand your business is to get laser clear on who you serve the best and who you don't serve the best. Clear intentions produce clear results. Who are your best clients? What are the quantitative and qualitative attributes of these people? Do they meet or exceed your minimums. Do they value your advice? Do they like you and trust you...Are they in a position to consistently pass along referrals to you year after year?... What we just described are your "A+" clients.

How do you attract more of these people? How do you make sure your existing clients and centers of influence only refer you to these "A+" clients? Simple. You develop a Perfect Client Profile…

Many top agents tell me that quantity of referrals isn't their issue anymore. Rather, they want to improve the quality of their referrals. Using a Perfect Client Profile is the answer. Remember! If you spend all your time working with clients that aren't your "A+" clients, then you won't have the time to find and serve more "A+" clients. Just taking the time to be clear on who your "A+" clients are is a worthwhile exercise. Clear intentions produce clear results. Fuzzy intentions produce fuzzy results. The clearer you are on who you want to serve, the more likely you will be able to attract them into your business.

Step #2 - Make sure you are referable.
Just selling someone's home or helping them buy a new home doesn't make you referable. It's the process you bring to them during the sale and the relationship you build with them after the sale that makes you referable.

What creates word of mouth? What gets your clients willing to tell others about you? Put them through a memorable experience. It is the process of doing business with you that makes your referable.

Is your process and service generating an unlimited flow of great referrals? If not, maybe you need to do some fine tuning in this area. This "process" of which I speak has two components. One component is the actual work you do - teaching clients, questioning their assumptions, getting their expectations and desires in line with reality, and leading them to make good decisions, negotiating well. Bottom line, you have to be good at what you do.

The other component has to do with many of the intangibles of doing business with you. You must do things like - do what you say you'll do, when you say you'll do it - finish what you start - don't run away from the problems - spend more time with them and serve them more than they've ever been served before.

Step #3 - Ask for referrals.
Now you're clear on who fits your business (and who doesn't). And you're making sure you are truly referable. It's time to get proactive and prospect for introductions. There are two basic ways to stimulate your clients into providing you with referrals: #1 Plant referral seeds; and then #2 ask for referrals.

Referral seeds promote the referral process in a very soft, but effective way. When you plant a referral seed, it can often prompt a client to give you referrals right on the spot. While there are many ways to plant referral seeds, Over the years I am sure you’ve heard the phrase "Don't Keep Me a Secret." Don’t be afraid to say this to your prospects and clients. You won't come across pushy and it turns into referrals; sometimes right on the spot, sometimes a few weeks or months down the road.

Of course, you should also ask your clients for referrals directly. Here are some things you may want to consider prior to asking for referrals…

• Create personal value your clients will immediately recognize….making them want to refer you!
• Treat every client with CARE and make them feel important…Nice people want to work with nice people.
• Get their permission to discuss referrals and how your business works…Make sure they're okay with this conversation; don't just plow ahead without their buy in.

Step #4 - Explore referral resistance.
If you are highly referable you won't get much resistance. When resistance does come up, explore it. Ask them to tell you more. Determine the objection behind the objection. When you truly listen to their perspective, they'll be open to your (different) perspective. Of course, if they just don't feel comfortable with the referral process, then back off. You don't want to hurt your relationship with your client by being too pushy. If you back off, the same client will often give you clients at a time of their own choosing.

Step #5 - Get connected with the new prospect.
Not only do you want to obtain quality referrals, you also want to gain solid connections to your new prospects. Once a client has offered you a referral, say, "What's the best way for you to connect us?" Just as you collaborated with your referral source for who you might be able to help, you now collaborate on the best way to make contact with them. Your referral source often knows the best way to get the prospect's attention.

Step #6 - Say "thank you" for referrals.
There are three places where you can say thanks…First, When the referral is given…Second, When the prospect becomes a client, you can thank the referral source again …And third, When you close the transaction.

 

Getting referrals is not as hard as some make it out to be. Get a system, get some courage and step on out there!

 

Eddie Brown © 2012