You work hard, you pull off one of the best transactions of your career! Your clients, the Smith's, are thrilled with you ! They couldn't be more pleased with your professionalism, your personal service– your attention to detail! You were simply MAUVELOUS!
However, just a few months down the road you see the Smiths and they tell you " Our friends the Jones' are buying a home in our neighborhood too! - Isn't that great?" GREAT? WHAT HAPPENED?
Sometimes you don't get the referral business you deserve because you simply didn't ASK for it!
Sometimes we don't ASK because we feel we are being pushy or imposing. Let's take a look at the task of asking. But first, we really need to accept the fact that we are in two kinds of business. The business of Real Estate, Mortgage, Title, Insurance...etc. But we are also in another business— The business of LEAD GENERATING. That's just a fact! The sooner we accept it the sooner we will move forward in improving our results! Every business needs leads of some kind to survive. How we generate those leads is ultimately in our hands. We have to decide if we are going to let business find us or if we will find business. One is passive and one is pro-active. Sometimes we are passive because we haven't realized our role in generating leads or we haven't given time to improving our lead generation efforts. Now more than ever is the time to sharpen our lead generating skills.
So let's take a look at a few ways to master the task of asking for referrals.
You can break down the ASKING formula into three categories:
BEFORE—DURING—AFTER
You should have a strategy for each of these areas so that you know you are making the most of every opportunity that comes your way.
For complete details on creating your BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the sale strategy —contact me I'll send you the complete article!
Here's a sample of dialog and a few ideas for using BEFORE the sale:
1.Something for Something Referrals: Offering to make referrals is an especially good strategy to open a conversation with a small-business owner, salesperson or pretty much anyone who has clients. "Sally, you sound like you do pretty good work for your clients. Tell me, if I ran into a good prospect for your business, how would I know it and how would you like me to introduce them to you?" Listen to what they say- "Great, and here's what a great lead for me looks like…" You can do this with your prospects, clients, friends, people you meet at a social functions, even neighbors you meet at your kids' soccer games. When you demonstrate a genuine willingness to give referrals, many people will reciprocate. This can be a great start to a productive Center of Influence relationship.
2.Earn the right: Early in the relationship, tell clients something like this: "One of the ways I know I'm doing a good job for my clients is when they tell others about me. And I know the only way that happens is by providing first-class advice and first-class service. I hope that at some point, you will trust me and the work I do well enough to tell others. Fair enough?"
This kind of conversation will add to the layering effect of Asking without Asking.
Of course keeping the topic of referral business fresh in your clients mind without being overbearing or obnoxious is exactly the goal! Good luck and Happy Asking!
Lisa Creed
Business Coach/Trainer
Creedteam.com
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