Why Do things the Hard Way: How Referrals & Introductions Could Double your Business Today!

For nearly 20 years I have asked clients why they don’t get referrals, and the response is almost always “I forget to ask.”

This is not a new problem, but one people have avoided confronting, like many other issues in their lives, mainly due to several forms of fear, misconception, presumed falsehoods, which I call “Head Trash.”  Sadly, these reasons have limited the referrals one could get for many years, and cause the significant limitation to business growth.

Imagine this, if every current client you had today, just introduced you to one more client. YOUR BUSINESS WOULD DOUBLE! With that carrot in mind, let’s see if you can follow our 10 point plan for growing your business today:

1. Make a commitment to ask at least 80% of every client and prospect you meet with for referrals, every time you meet with them.
2. Start to ask for referrals, at the beginning of your relationship, as opposed to waiting until you feel like you have “earned it.”
3. Understand that referral gathering is a process and a campaign, so treat it as such, and continuously ask for them.
4. Referrals are good for both parties, if your customers understand how important this is to you; then you can focus on providing them better service, and not worrying about developing more clients.
5. Track your referrals and where they come from
6. You don’t have to buy the referrals, but offering a simple thank you card when one is received may be enough.
7. If you don’t get a referral at the first request, don’t quit, keep asking, keep notes in the file about who else you can ask.
8. When you client freezes and can’t come up with a name, help them figure it out, where they might know them from and give them prompts.
9. Use LinkedIn in prior to your client meetings to identify potential referrals.
10. Face your fears and ask for them, even when you feel uncomfortable, and keep doing it until it becomes a critical part of your relationships with all clients.

If you follow this formula, you will find that within 2 years you too will start to receive an email or phone call every day from some body that says, “I heard you were good, and we need to talk~

Then you will know, you have faced your fears, stuck to your plan, and in the most time efficient manner possible, built a business beyond your wildest dreams .

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