Referral Marketing: Get Your ASK in Gear!

Do you hate to ask for referrals?

If so, you're actually in the norm. Many people feel that asking for a referral is an imposition. They feel nervous that the other person will think that they are asking out of desperation. They feel awkward putting the focus on themselves.

Asking for referrals is a natural part of doing business. It can be done well and it can be done poorly. There's a right time and a wrong time to ask for the referral. There are people you should ask and others you should not ask. This is partly why so many people struggle with asking for referrals. They don't know WHO to ask, so they just ask anyone and everyone. They don't know WHEN to ask, so they ask at the wrong time. And they've never been taught HOW to ask, so it comes out all wrong and feels uncomfortable. And if you're a normal human being ... you would avoid discomfort at all cost! Hence where you are right now ... your ASK not in gear.

Consider WHO to ask carefully and base it on the strength of the relationship. For now, let's just focus on client referrals. Ask clients who know you well, like you a lot and trust you 100%. It's easy for them to talk about you. It's comfortable for them to refer you since they believe in you. They would go out of their way to help a friend like you. You might be thinking ... "this is every client". Is it really?

Here's the caveat. Keep in mind that simply completing good work for a client doesn't necessarily produce the right conditions for asking for a referral, contrary to what most people believe. Have you built an authentic giving relationship with that client or have you treated them like a transaction? Referrals are a natural bi-product of a solid relationship. Transactions produce little more than waste. Have you brought that relationship additional value far beyond what you did for them as a client? Does the client see you as a valuable resource that they can't live without? Have you taken a genuine interest in wanting to serve their needs and help them be successful? Have you referred business to them? Have you invited them to go to networking events with you so that you could help them gain visibility and exposure?

You see, serving our clients through our profession is the expectation. Serving our relationships by bringing more value positions us to then ask for something in return. If we don't bring enough value to the relationship, we feel uncomfortable.

The bottom line is simple ... get your ASK in gear! Give more of yourself to your clients before you ask for referrals. Ask only those who know you best and those you've given a lot to. Ask when the relationship is mature. Ask in a way that helps the other person bring your value to others.

There's a lot more on this topic for future posts ... stay tuned!

Referral Marketing: Make Your Connections Count!

A new networking book just came on the market! It's called Make Your Connections Count by Thrive Publishing. This book is a collection of individual chapters related to networking that will help business professionals get the most out of their networking efforts, maximize their connections, and increase their success. The experts featured are from around the country.

I have a chapter in this book called "Great Givers Give Great Referrals". In my chapter, I discuss the Human Law of Reciprocity and how it directly impacts your referral results. I also discuss the delusion that every referral is created equally. Not true. There are six levels of referrals with each one getting closer to a closed deal being handed to you on a silver platter. The connection to the human law of reciprocity is ... if you give low level referrals to others, you will also receive low level referrals from others. So, it stands to reason that the reverse is also true ... if you give high level referrals to others, you will receive high level referrals in return. The higher the level of referral the less work you need to do to close the deal! Who wouldn't want more of that??

Some of the other chapters in this book include: "How to be a memorable connector" by Cathy Jennings; "Twitter Strategies" by Gail Nott; "Use speaking to build a thriving network" by Caterina Rando; and "Make your connections count across generations" by Bruce Bright.

To get a copy of this book or to find out more, go to my website at www.ReferralInstitutePittsburgh.com and send me an email. This book is hot off the press!

Referral Marketing: Too Much Rain!

The mighty Mississippi River is raging into farmlands and flooding anything in its path. Homes, businesses and complete towns are underwater. Where I live in Pittsburgh, we have seen 24 of 30 days in April with rainfall and more than twice the amount of rain we should have in May! Nature has gone mad! There's just too much rain and today it's 50 degrees in the middle of May. Ughhhh.

People are beginning to wonder if the sun will ever shine again long enough to dry the ponded lawns and warm the flowers that should be bright and beautiful by now. I can only watch in wonder at how the robins and bluebirds are keeping their babies warm and dry. Is Mother Nature mad at us?

What happens when it rains referrals on your business? Can you ever get to the point of having too many referrals? My short answer is YES, you can get to that point. HOW you get to that point is for another rainy day. WHAT you do when you get this is today's topic.

If you focus on a specific niche market that suits you to a tee, you are likely to get more referrals than you can handle. Then what?! You need to have a way of handling the excess so it doesn't flood your reputation. You can only handle so much until important things start to give ... follow-up gets slack, customer service suffers,etc. Now is the time to have great referral relationships! Who do you know that you can refer some of these clients to who will care for them as well as you? Who do you know who would partner with you in some way to handle the clients that aren't the best match for you? Who can handle your overflow?

Strategic alliances like this make for good business. You win ... your clients/prospects win ... your colleague wins ... and your relationships win. What more could you want? And the best part is ... nobody drowns from the rain.

Referral Marketing: Strengthen Your Relationships

Have you ever noticed that some over the counter drugs are listed as "extra stength"? If you really have a splitting headache, you might grab the extra stength version of Tylenol as opposed to regular strength. Why? Because the hope is that the extra strength variety will do more for you. The assumption is that if there is more strength in the product, you will see and feel results faster. Right?

That's exactly why you need to strengthen your relationships. The more strength in your relationships, the more they can and are willing to do for you. The more they do for you, the more results you'll see.

Referrals don't come from people ... they come from the strong relationships you have with people. So, how can you strengthen your relationships? Here's one example:

A friend of mine (who happens to be a client and referral source) discovered earlier this year that his wife has breast cancer. Once they were able to breathe again, they decided that they were going to participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Mother's Day. They put out the word for others to support them. I organized a small team to join the walk and raise funds for the cause. Several other clients of mine gave donations to support my friend.

Supporting the efforts of your referral sources does not go un-noticed. When you offer your support out of kindness and authenticity, relationships gain strength and durability. Who can you support today?

Referral Marketing: No Pain, No Gain

Since January, I've lost 10 pounds. I decided to hire a personal trainer to hold me accountable to my fitness goals. I stopped drinking Diet Coke ... well okay, I've had one or two since January, but it's gone from my routine. I've started jogging on the treadmill ... something I could never imagine myself doing EVER. I just yesterday, I jogged for 3 miles from my hotel room.

When I stop to think about it, I've made quite a few changes this year. All the good ... but none without some pain. Working out regularly is painful at times. Giving up some things and making better food choices is painful too. But when I look down at the scale and take pants to the Tailor to be taken in ... I definitely see the gain.

Referral marketing is not a quick fix to your business. It takes effort over a period of time to reap the benefits of your investment. Relationships take time to develop and are seldom without some pain along the way. If you provide the leadership and patience, referral marketing will reward you with potentially the greatest gain you will ever experience from any other form of marketing.

The progress I've made with my fitness has taken me some time, energy, and a personal commitment on my part. No one can do this for me. I have to lead my own results one workout at a time. You need to do the same with referral marketing ... one relationship at a time!

Referral Marketing: Owl Pellets

Finally, the weather has warmed enoughed for me to be outside working on my garden. I'm a happy camper. One of the things I've noticed all around my garden are the piles and piles of soil dotting my landscape. Moles ... moles ... and more moles. In my mind, I heard myself say, "Gee, I hope there's an owl or two around to take care of these moles!"

As it turns out ... there is ... or at least there WAS! I found evidence (an owl pellet) that an owl had been nearby. Now don't get too queazy on me! An owl pellet is a hardened ball of bones and fir that an owl tosses out to the ground after a good meal. In my younger days, I used to disect these pellets with school kids to teach them about the food chain, skeletons, and nature at it's best. Basically, the owl's body knows to discard all the parts of a mouse (or mole) that it can't use or digest.

In some crazy way, we need to do the same thing with our network and networking activities. Perhaps you network in places that are not a good use of your time. Toss it out of your schedule! Perhaps you're meeting with too many people who clearly are "takers" and only want to sell you something. Become more selective of who gets your "face" time and toss the other ones out. Maybe you're asking every client for referrals when it only makes sense to ask the RIGHT ones. Toss out your behaviors that are wasting your time and focus on those that produce real results!

We often get stuck in a rut of activity without every stopping to analyze the results. My guess is that you've already begun to think about your networking and referral activity differently. What do you honestly need to keep ... and what can you toss out like an owl pellet?

Referral Marketing: Coffee Grinders

Recently, I was given a Keurig coffee machine as a gift. This is a great machine for a convenient single cup of coffee! All you need to do is drop in a "K-cup", add water, and push a button. Wa-La! It makes a perfect cup of coffee.

Even though I love the convenience of the K-cup system, I can't help but to feel guilty of tossing out all those little plastic cups into our environment (multiplied by the billions now with the popularity of Keurig). So I use the K-cups very, very sparingly. More often now, I use the re-usable filter cup that was included with the machine. I grind my own coffee beans, add the coffee to the mini-filter, insert into the machine, and wa-la ... another perfect cup of coffee and no waste!

I know you've probably seen a coffee grinder. It takes an ordinary coffee bean and grinds it into the coffee granules that make great coffee. Coffee beans in their natural state don't make great coffee. They need to be crushed, ground, or worked into granules.

Your referral network is kind of like that coffee bean in its natural state. If unattended, it's just going to sit there, stagnant, with a lot of potential locked inside. It's not going to produce anything great until you work it, educate it, nurture it, and give to it. Then, and only then, will it be able to produce the great tasting results that you're looking for.

Referral Marketing: World's Worst Networker

How many times have you been to a networking event and met someone who only wanted to talk about themselves? Have you met the person who was totally all about the food? How about the person who was passing out his/her business cards to everyone person in the room? And then, I'm sure you've run into the person who constantly looked past you to see what more interesting people there were in the room.

These networkers and more are featured in a new book by Tim Houston, called World's Worst Networker. It's an interesting look at some bad networking behaviors and how to correct them. The book is filled with lessons learned by the best in the industry from the worst networkers in the world.

And ... your's truly has a featured chapter called, "May THIS force NOT be with you!". Check it out on Amazon.com.

Referral Marketing: Diet Coke

About 25 years ago, I was in college and training for a body building contest. Yikes, I just admitted alot there in one sentence!! Anyway, in order to cut out more calories, I started blending in Diet Coke with my regular Coke. Eventually, I made the switch entirely to Diet Coke for no calories.

I had been drinking Diet Coke since then as my main beverage, except for coffee and some iced tea. Many people over the years kept telling me how bad Diet Coke was for my body. The fact that you could clean really dirty things by using Diet Coke made me wonder if my intestines were sparkling clean or not!

I decided recently to give it up all together. I haven't had a Diet Coke in nearly 2months now. Yes, some days I still crave it, but I've moved on. I made the decision and I'm sticking to it. All it took was the determination to have a healthier body.

If you're not happy with the results you're getting (or not getting) from your networking group, why not DECIDE to make a change. No ... I'm not suggesting you leave the group! Instead, change your behavior ... lead your relationships ... and create the results you want. Yes, you can expect some cravings for the complacency you once had ... but in the long run, your referral marketing efforts will be enhanced by your determination and leadership.

Referral Marketing: Life Insurance

Have you ever experienced a phone interview for life insurance? I have. It's like a medical magnifying lens is being held over top of your head. The questioning is long and intense. They want to know everything about your health history. They even want to know everything about your driving habits. Are you a risk worth taking?

Imagine if you were able to get that much information about your prospects. Imagine if your referral partners knew the questions to ask on your behalf. Imagine if your referral partners helped you pre-screen your prospects. What would it do for your business if you had this kind of information in advance? What would it do for your business if you had this kind of relationship with your referral partners?

Possible? Absolutely! Take the lead and make it happen.

Referral Marketing: Bat Boxes Work!

For several months now, I've been dealing with a little brown bat that is determined to live inside the patio umbrella on my deck. That's right ... INSIDE my umbrella!! Can you imagine my surprise the first time I opened the umbrella and falling onto the table top (just missing my hand) was a little brown bat! It was as shocked to see me as I was to see it ... to say the least.

Then we started to tie the umbrella closed at night so it couldn't get up inside. The persistent bat would tuck itself snug as a bug in the folds on the outside of the umbrella! Finally, I decided to post a bat box on the outside of the deck rails closest to the umbrella. My hope was to encourage it to live in a more suitable enclosure.

This weekend ... SUCCESS!! The little brown bat now lives in its very own box, keeping my back yard free of pesky mosquitos. It must have decided that a comfy bat box that wouldn't be disturbed was much more desirable than an unpredictable umbrella. We're all so much happier now.

Fortunately for the bat, I love nature and was patient enough to give the bat what I knew it really needed. Do you know what your referral partners need to be really happy? You're probably saying, DUH ... they need referrals to make them happy. It's more complex than that. Do they need a face to face introduction? Do they need to meet the COO instead of the CEO? Do they need two referrals per month to help them meet their goals? Do they need to meet with you once a month to keep you top of mind?

Lucky for you ... your referrals partners can talk ... unlike the little bat. So, ask them ... What do you need from me? Effective communication can make any relationship operate more smoothly.

Referral Marketing: Catalytic Connectors

How many times have you attended networking events alone? Alot? You're not alone. I would venture to guess that most people attend alone. And, if they're not alone, they're with other co-workers ... attached at the hip.

Talk about a missed networking opportunity!!

Imagine if every time you attended a networking event, you took a close business contact with you. Maybe a referral partner, a strategic partner, a current client, a past client, a close colleague, etc. (you get the idea). Now imagine if you're sole purpose that evening is to help that person make some new contacts. WOW! Look at the value you're bringing to the relationship. Imagine how this contact is going to feel.

Tonight, I did just that. I invited a client to attend a networking event with me. My sole purpose was to help him make some new connections. I knew a small handful of people at the event, but most importantly, I knew the organizer (a past client). I brought the two of them together and asked the organizer if she could help to introduce my client around to some key people in the room. Because she knew everyone there, she was able to help my client meet some specific people.

In my opinion, a networking event becomes more powerful when the focus is NOT on you and instead viewed as an opportunity to help someone else.

Referral Marketing: Hummingbirds Networkers

The other day I was sitting on my deck enjoying lunch with a colleague when I noticed some unusual behavior from a hummingbird. Being a fairly avid bird watcher, I became curious when a hummingbird continued to frequent a particular spot on a tree branch and rested there for a short time. I suspected a nest sight and my binoculars confirmed it! It's so rare to ever see a hummingbird's nest. My summer has been blessed.

When I watch hummingbirds flitter about so quickly and randomly, it makes me think of those people at networking events that are only there to pass out a ton of business cards and try to shake hands with everyone in the room. I'm sure you've met them along the way and if you're like me, you try to avoid them. It's a shame that they can't see the impact they're having on their own referability. Being fast and furious at a networking event is not going to help you build long lasting relationships. It's actually not going to accomplish much for you at all ... except cause you to call your printer for more business cards! Good for the printer, I suppose.

Slow down. Get to know people. Find a connection. Act like a human being who's genuinely interested in others ... not like a hummingbird. A networking event is no place for hummingbirds.

Referral Marketing: TOADS

For the past few evenings, I've observed an American Toad sitting along the edge of my small pond calling out to any passing female toads that found his message appealing. The sound, a long high pitched shrill, is quite distinctive, especially in spring. I've had this happen to me once before at a different location and that led to me relocating hundreds of tadpoles (since female toads lay 4000-8000 eggs)!!

Last night, he wasn't around any longer. So that means one of two things ... he was successful at attracting his target (which I'll know soon enough) or he wasn't and has decided to move on.

His efforts to attract a mate made me think of our word of mouth messages that we use to attract our target market. I wonder if our message is appealing enough to our target market to encourage them to seek us out? Is anyone listening? More importantly, are the right people listening?

Believe it or not, some people don't even know who their target market is! If that's the case, I can be fairly certain that their word of mouth marketing message is not going to pack a punch.

In reality, it really doesn't matter if YOU like the sound of your message. What really matters is if your TARGET MARKET likes the sound of your message. You need to be saying what they need to hear. When you've accomplished that, your target market will seek you out from the crowd. And ... when you've trained others how to share that same message on your behalf, you then have a chorus singing your song!

Imagine if my little toad had a chorus helping him to attract his mate. Do you think his odds of success would improve?

Referral Marketing: Value of Your Brand

What's the value that you place on your brand? How important is it to you? At what cost would you place it at risk?

Establishing your reputation and your brand is a crucial component to your referability. Without it, people won't refer you. In fact, without it, people are likely to speak poorly about you and that's the kiss of death with word of mouth marketing.

Imagine that every time you refer someone, a piece of your brand goes with them. Will they take care of it? Will they protect it? Will they enhance it? For this reason, some people actually shy away from giving referrals because they aren't willing to risk any blemish to their brand. I believe that we can control who represents our brand by choosing referable referral partners. We can educate people how to enhance our brand by teaching them how to refer us appropriately. We can enhance our brand and reputation by ensuring that all those who represent us adhere to our standards of excellence.

As a Steeler fan, I can only imagine the turmoil that the Rooney family is facing with such a blow to their brand through the recent actions of Big Ben. How much of their brand and reputation are they willing to risk on one reckless player? Will they take control of who represents their brand? It will be interesting to observe from the grandstand.

What would you do if this were your brand?

Referral Marketing: The Grass is Greener

Outside my office window right now, I swear that I can see the grass growing. It's getting greener by the hour and with every rain drop. In Pittsburgh, tis the season for the grass getting greener. It's exactly what one might expect around here.

But what about the fields of your referral marketing plan? Is your grass getting greener? Or, is the grass always greener on the other side (at your competition's pastures)? What are you doing to nurture your referral marketing efforts? Are you giving enough to your referral partners? Are you focused on helping others? Are you feeding your network with your time, energy, referrals, contacts, and connections? Are you a ray of sunshine in the lives of others or are you a grey cloud that dampens their spirits?

Alot of people give up on their referral relationships too soon because they think the grass could be greener elsewhere. They fail to realize that THEY are their own gardener. They control what seeds are planted and how well they are cared for. They control the productivity of their own lawn and garden (their referral relationships ... in case you lost the analogy!).

The grass isn't always greener elsewhere. The odds are that you just haven't been paying enough attention to your own lawn or garden to make it as green and productive as you would like it to be.

What ONE thing could you change today to make your grass greener and ensure that your referral marketing plan is working?

Referral Marketing: Facebook Friend or Foe?

The number of people who use Facebook is staggering! The content on Facebook can be jaw-dropping. Teenagers can become reckless on Facebook. They seem to forget who might be "listening" in to their posts. Case in point ... when my oldest nephew was boasting about smoking to his friends during snow days when they were home from school. My brother didn't like that very much when I told him about it. I'm not sure which made him more angry ... not knowing about it or that his son was smoking.

Facebook is like a never ending reality tv show. That's why people like it so much. It has a way of bringing people back to a high school mentality. But when it comes to how Facebook can impact your referral marketing efforts, it can be your friend or foe ... just ask my nephew.

Your success with word of mouth marketing can rest on your reputation. I believe that a large number of people damage their reputations on Facebook every day. If one of your referral partners referred you one of their clients and that client chose to research you and found you on Facebook, what would they see? Would they see your photos of when you were tanked at your best friend's wedding? Would they read your posts that contain foul language? I surely hope not!! Would they see photos that portray someone they want to do business with?

Think about the deeper impact. How would this reflect on your referral partner who referred you in the first place?

If you're on Facebook (yes, I am too), always remember that anyone, anywhere, at anytime is checking you out. What will they see? And how will it impact your referability? Let's face it ... you're not in high school any longer.

Referral Marketing: Sticky Business

Tree sap! Yuck! Have you ever sat down on a park bench on a beautiful spring day only to find out later that you sat on a drop of tree sap! That's really sticky stuff. It sticks to just about everything that it comes into contact with ... clothing, hair, cars, windows, skin, etc.

The other day, my dog stepped in tree sap. As he proceeded to romp around the yard, he apparently picked up all sorts of pebbles along the way. Pretty soon, he was holding his foot up as if to say, "What the heck is wrong with my foot?" Peanut butter did the trick! Yep ... peanut butter. And, he enjoyed the treat afterwards of cleaning all the peanut butter from between his toes.

So back to the tree sap and its inherant stickiness.

How sticky is your word of mouth message? How sticky are YOU? How sticky is your brand?Do you make an impression when you meet someone so that they remember you long after the event? Can people remember what you do? Can other people repeat your message accurately?

The best word of mouth marketers are indeed sticky ... very sticky in fact. They work to create a sticky message so that other people can remember it, repeat it, and repeat it again. After all, isn't that what referral marketing is all about? How else do you expect people to be able to refer you if they can't remember your message?

Referral Marketing: Keep Track of Your Mileage

Keeping track of things is an ongoing effort! Stop and think of how many things in your business life you have to keep track of ... such as:

Your schedule
Your profits and losses
Your expenses
Your budget
Your goals
Your results
Your mileage

This is just the tip of the iceberg for most business owners! Keeping track is important in order to know how things are going and if you're on track.

Are you keeping track of your referral mileage? Are you keeping track of what you GIVE to your network and what you RECEIVE? Are you keeping track of the return on your networking investment? Are you keeping track of your referrals and who they come from and when?

Keeping track of your referral mileage is one of those things that only the most successful referral marketers do. If you want to be among the best, begin to include this process in your business. Seek out a new book by my friend, Dr. Ivan Misner, called Networking Like a Pro. In there you'll find a scorecard tool to help you keep track of your referral mileage.

Referral Marketing: Too Much of a Good Thing!

"All things in moderation" or "Too much of a good thing" or "The more the merrier"

How many times have you heard these before? All you have to do is listen to the news to experience the reality of "too much of a good thing". For some reason, our society has implanted in our brains that more is better. Well, I believe that in many, many cases ... more is NOT better. Here's what I mean:

1. In Pittsburgh, we had record snowfalls this winter. More snow than we've ever seen!! Fun? Yes, for some (me). A pain? Yes, for many. But what will happen when all that snow melts into our three rivers and it creates record flooding? More is not always better.

2. This weekend, a young man died on the Carnegie Mellon University campus. Most likely from drinking too much. A beer once in a while tastes great. Too much of a good thing is deadly.

3. Food. Food is a good thing. We need it to survive. But do we need SUPER SIZED food to survive? I don't think so. All things in moderation.

How about referrals? Can you have too many referrals? Can referrals be a bad thing?

From my perspective, yes you can have too many referrals! Imagine that! Too many referrals being a bad thing?! Consider that if you're getting too many of the wrong kind of referrals, you're going to be spinning your wheels alot and chasing down potential prospects who shouldn't be working with you. This is going to waste your time and give you headaches along the way. Not to mention those people will be taking up space that could be occupied by the RIGHT referred prospect!

Too many referrals can also be a bad thing if you're not equipped to handle them all. If business is coming into you faster than you can manage, on the surface it's great, but something is going to give. Perhaps your customer service starts to slack off, your follow-up system gets clogged, or your referral thank you system gets left behind.

Just like so many other things, too much of a good thing can hurt you and your reputation if you're not careful! More is not always better. I'd rather have just enough of the right kind of referrals than too many of the wrong kind.