Beyond Referrals Page 8

  5. Give back. Followers of your Facebook fan page are vitally important. After all, they hold the keys to spreading your message and amplifying your social media presence. Find creative ways to thank them for following and engaging (offer free downloads or white papers; promote their businesses; let your followers know about your charitable endeavors and encourage them to participate in kind).

  6. Let them get to know you and your firm. Studies show that when people select a financial advisor, they focus less on the advisor’s track record of returns and more on whether they like, trust, and respect that person (in addition to whether the advisor was a referral from a friend or colleague). Be real … be transparent … be authentic. Show some personality and allow followers to catch a glimpse of what you are really about: post pictures, share stories, and, above all, speak in your own voice.

  7. Promote events. Make sure your Facebook fan page includes an “Events” page, where you showcase upcoming seminars, speaking engagements, charitable endeavors, and client events. Provide a description of the event, as well as a link to a registration page, as appropriate.

  ACTION STEP

  Create a Facebook editorial calendar. Start with a list of potential topics from which you can write an original post or research a compelling article. Next, determine how frequently you will update your page (consistency is key) and then map out time in your calendar to get it done. Also, if your business clients have Facebook fan pages, check them out from time to time. See what your clients are posting. Participate in their forums, if appropriate.

  YOUTUBE CAN STIMULATE REFERRALS

  When I asked Ford Saeks of the Prime Concepts Group if posting videos on YouTube could contribute to generating referrals, he responded with a resounding “Absolutely.” He told me, “In this day and age, when someone refers you to a friend or colleague, there’s a strong chance that new prospect of yours is going to do an Internet search for you. When you show up on the search engines, it gives you substance and the all-important ‘social proof’ that you are a professional resource that can be trusted.”

  I recommend you set up a YouTube channel for yourself or your business and make regular contributions. As I discussed in the previous strategy about blogs, the videos you produce must be worthy of sharing with others. YouTube makes it very easy for people to share the video they just watched. Make sure you have good audio quality on your videos. People will forgive a lower-quality picture, but they must be able to hear what you’re saying. The overall quality of your videos must match how you want to be perceived in the marketplace.

  A side benefit of using YouTube is that it helps with Internet searches and your website visibility. Since (as noted earlier) Google gives high rankings to YouTube videos, the videos that link to your regular website will help with higher website rankings. A couple of YouTube channels you might want to check out are http://www.YouTube.com/referralcoach and http://www.YouTube.com/primeconcepts.

  ACTION STEP

  Set up your YouTube channel. Submit a value-oriented video a couple of times a month. Keep the videos to three minutes or less. Teach, give good ideas, question assumptions, and create awareness. In other words, make your videos valuable to those who watch them, and they’ll tell others about you.

  SECTION II

  GET MORE INTRODUCTIONS

  Create Connections to Your New Prospects

  Once upon a time, we could get our clients to suggest people for us to contact; we could actually reach them on the phone and set up appointments without the clients having to get involved with an introduction. Those days have changed. With the do-not-call regulations, caller ID, and all the other ways businesspeople and consumers protect themselves from unwanted calls, it’s just darned hard to reach people.

  Let’s go back in time for a minute … when there was no Internet, no e-mail, even no telephones. A person who was referred was given a letter of introduction. A person who went to another town and wanted to do business would bring a letter of introduction to help establish new contacts. That letter of introduction would be the “borrowed trust” necessary for the person to gain credibility in that new relationship.

  Well, luckily we do have the Internet, with many new and creative ways to reach people. But the age-old concept of getting introduced has become more important than ever before.

  This section of the book focuses on how you can create many types of introductions to your new prospects. Not every idea will fit your business model, but many will. And remember … ideas do not make you more successful. Only acting on ideas will lead to your success.

  6 INTRODUCTION BASICS

  TURN REFERRALS INTO INTRODUCTIONS

  I believe crafting the introduction should be a collaborative process between you and the referral source. Sometimes our referral source knows exactly what to say to a friend, family member, or colleague to put us in the most favorable light and pique the person’s interest in hearing from us. Sometimes not. The right introduction can make or break the referral process, and so we can’t leave it to chance.

  I’ve seen many people, adept at getting referrals, have their introductions break down. I almost never call prospects without being introduced in some way first. (Almost never. Sometimes I have to just get on the phone and get the conversation going.) To my way of thinking, a referral doesn’t count until it’s actionable—until I know someone has heard good things about me and is expecting to hear from me.

  This chapter covers the basics of securing a high-quality introduction.

  SAFE AND EFFECTIVE

  When the Food and Drug Administration evaluates a new drug for approval in the marketplace, the criterion it uses is this: is the drug safe and effective? This is how we need to think about introductions. We need to create “safe” introductions: The introduction needs to feel safe (comfortable) to both the client providing the introduction and the prospect receiving the introduction. And the introduction needs to be “effective”—you need to establish a quality connection with the prospect.

  In fact, when turning your referrals into introductions, I think you can even use the words safe and effective with the person providing the referrals.

  George, I appreciate your willingness to introduce me to a couple of your colleagues at work. Let’s spend a minute to craft an introduction that feels safe and comfortable to you and your colleagues and creates an effective connection for all of us.

  Or:

  George, I suspect your friends would prefer to hear from you, before they hear from me—to know why you think they should take my call. Let’s come up with an introduction that is both safe and effective. (You can substitute the word comfortable for safe if you wish.)

  SECURING SAFE AND EFFECTIVE INTRODUCTIONS

  Here are the basics of creating a safe and effective introduction that establishes a connection between you and your new prospect:

  1. Be assumptive. I don’t believe we should ever assume someone is willing to give us referrals; that’s too aggressive. Once we’re in the middle of a referral conversation, we should assume an introduction will be created. It’s almost always best for the prospect to hear from the client first.

  2. Make it collaborative. Creating the introduction should be a joint effort between you and the referral source. You’ll get the best introduction that is likely to stick. (See the section “Create Introductions That Stick” later in this chapter.)

  3. Make it about protecting the relationships. We want an introduction that feels safe to all parties concerned. It needs to fit their relationship and personalities. Don’t force a particular style onto people.

  4. Believe in your value. If you’re not used to creating engaged introductions, then you may need to summon a little courage the first few times. Make your request for referrals and the ensuing introduction all about your incredible value and desire to help others. (You do believe in the work you do, don’t you?)

  5. Take your time. Don’t rush through this. Get a good introduction. If you legitima
tely run out of time in a meeting, finish up over the phone or over a thank you lunch.

  6. A referral doesn’t count unless it’s actionable! Referrals aren’t enough anymore. We need to think in terms of introductions. Once we are introduced, we can become proactive with the new prospect. Anything short of that is wishing and hoping.

  THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF AN EFFECTIVE INTRODUCTION

  The more tailored an introduction is, the more effective it will be—and the more likely the prospect will be eager to hear from you. Here are three important building blocks to an effective, tailored introduction.

  1. The initial value discussion. When you ask for referrals, your request should be about the value of your product or service, your process, or your relationship. (See the VIPS Method for asking for referrals in Chapter 4.) We call this having a “value discussion” with your client. When the client fully understands your value and can express that clearly, you are highly referable and it’s time to ask for referrals. And the content of this value discussion is often the reason why the client should refer you and why the prospect should consider meeting with you. Pay attention to the value that is recognized. It’s one of the reasons people should refer you, and it will help you in crafting a more effective introduction.

  2. What’s important to the prospect? Whether you ask for referrals or they are volunteered to you, ask your referral source, “What’s going on in the referred person’s life (or business) that’s important to the person right now?” or “What is the person passionate about these days?” If there is any connection between what’s important to this new prospect and the work that you do, make sure it becomes part of the introduction your referral source makes for you.

  3. The relationship between the referral source and the prospect. Ask your referral source questions like, “Tell me something you like or admire about the person.” “Why did you think of her, and why do you think she should know about the important work I do?” “Tell me more about how you know her.” The answers to these questions can also help you and your referral source create a more tailored and effective introduction.

  To get prospects to take notice of you and take time out from their busy day to talk to you, you have to have a compelling reason. The great thing about referrals is that your referral source usually has the knowledge necessary to create this compelling reason.

  CREATE INTRODUCTIONS THAT STICK

  During my speeches and training sessions, one common challenge that is expressed is that many introductions seem to fall through the cracks. The referral source agrees to make the introduction, but then nothing ever happens.

  Here are a few bases to cover each time you are turning a referral into an introduction. Make these habits, and you’ll create many more introductions that will actually go through.

  1. In-person introductions are almost always the best, especially when dealing with higher-level prospects. If it fits your business, take your referral source and the prospect to breakfast, lunch, or dinner (or take them for a round of golf or to a sporting event) for a social introduction. Don’t talk business unless they bring it up. Use this as an opportunity to build genuine trust and rapport before asking for a business meeting.

  2. As already mentioned, make the introduction a collaborative process. During this discussion, a great thing to say is, “George, what do you think you need to say to Sandy to get her to take my call or read and respond to my e-mail?” or “How do you think Sandy will react to this introduction?” Get your referral source to think through what he or she needs to say to pique the friend’s or colleague’s interest. The more your referral source thinks through the introduction with you present, the more likely two things will happen: (1) you will get a better, more thoughtful, introduction, and (2) your source will feel more confident and engaged in making everything come together.

  3. Always agree on a time frame for the introduction. If you can help it, never create an introduction with an open time frame. “When do you think you’ll have a chance to send that e-mail to Sandy so that I can be on the lookout for it and follow through in a timely manner?”

  4. Send a reminder in the form of a thank you. Let’s say it’s Wednesday and your client will be speaking to the friend about you on Saturday. On Friday you should send your client the following e-mail: “George, per our conversation on Wednesday, I’m looking forward to seeing if I can be a resource for Sandy. I’ll call you on Monday, as we agreed, to see how your conversation with Sandy went on Saturday.” Now the client is reminded of your agreement in the form of a thank you.

  Remember, you can have your favorite way of being introduced, but what often works best is what fits the relationship between the referral source and the prospect. So be flexible.

  Getting the Introduction Conversation Started

  Here are different ways to get this introduction conversation started:

  “How would you like to connect me to Sandy?”

  “How would you like to introduce me to Sandy?”

  “I suspect Sandy would prefer to hear from you before she hears from me. Agree?”

  “Let’s talk about how you can introduce me to Sandy so that she’s interested in hearing from me.”

  “How do you feel about putting a good word in for me with Sandy, so she’s open to taking my call?”

  “What do you think you need to say to Sandy to pique her interest in hearing from me?”

  “How Sandy learns about me can make all the difference in the world as to whether she’ll take my call. Can we discuss what the introduction looks like?”

  “Here’s what I’ve found works the best. Let’s discuss what you think you need to say to Sandy to get her interested in hearing from me. Then we’ll talk about the actual connection—phone, e-mail—over lunch. Can we brainstorm on this for a minute?”

  “Would you be willing to put a good word in for me with Sandy before I reach out to her? Can we discuss what I’ve found usually works the best?”

  Three Critical Questions

  When collaborating on a great introduction, think in terms of three words: what, how, and when. What do you need to say to him or her? How should the introduction take place (phone, e-mail, note, over lunch)? When can you make contact with him or her? If you always ask these three questions (in your own words, of course), you’ll get a strong introduction.

  KEEP THE REFERRAL SOURCE INTHE LOOP

  Try as you might to secure a great introduction and then reach that prospect on the phone (or through e-mail), things don’t always go as well as you’d like. What do you do when you just can’t seem to reach the prospect? Or maybe you have some quick, initial communication with the prospect, but it doesn’t seem to go anywhere. What do you do?

  The first thing you want to do is keep your referral sources in the loop. Let them know how things are proceeding. Don’t give them all the details, but if you’re making progress, let them know that. If you’re having trouble reaching the prospect, let them know that. While your referral sources may not have a stake in your doing business with their friend or colleague, they do want to know that you’re following through on the process to its logical conclusion.

  When it’s time for you to reach out to the prospect, don’t hesitate. Act quickly. Referrals have a short shelf life. The longer you wait to contact your referral prospect, the more likely you will be burning your referral bridge with the referral source.

  Leave a voice mail for the prospect and wait about a week. If you hear nothing, leaving another voice mail or send an e-mail. Some people respond faster to e-mail than voice mail; some people prefer to hear your voice first. Using multiple approaches usually helps. If after your second message—and waiting a week—you still haven’t heard anything from the prospect, get on the phone with your referral source and say something like, “Hey George. I wanted you to know where we stand with that introduction to Sandy. Over the last couple of weeks I left her a voice mail and sent her an e-mail. Certainly I don’t want to be a pest. Bas
ed on your conversation with her about me and what you know about her, what do you think we should do next?” Notice I said, “What do you think we should do next.” This should be a collaborative effort. Don’t wait too long to let your referral source know you’re having difficulty reaching the prospect.

  The referral source may tell you to try again, or be patient, or totally back off. He or she also may offer to find out what’s going on—to make sure the connection gets made. This is a very common occurrence. I have had many clients go to bat for me with their colleagues, giving them a little kick to make sure they, at least, give me a bit of their time.

  7 SECURING EFFECTIVE INTRODUCTIONS

  WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO GET INTRODUCED?

  Now that we’ve covered the basics of a good introduction, we move to talking about how to actually get connected to your prospect. Is it best to have your client call the prospect? What about an e-mail introduction? Isn’t an in-person introduction the most powerful? When it comes to the method of introduction, one size does not fit all. The nature of your business and especially the nature of the relationship between the referral source and the prospect will help you determine the best way to get connected. As I mentioned in the previous chapter, creating the introduction should be a collaborative process between you and your referral source.