Are you a Referral Maker?
Do you create referrals for other people? Do you help other businesses grow and flourish?
Let’s look at what it takes to become a Referral Maker and make you amazing!
Why Be A Referral Maker?
Why create referrals for other people?
A Referral Maker can be anyone in life that honestly believes in the Pay It Forward mantra, or in basic terms, if they help you, they know you would be willing to help them.
Referral Makers normally have the following traits:
They listen more than they talk 👂👂👄 (2 ears and 1 mouth)
They ask questions about you and your business
They keep in touch and follow-up
They send people your way that might want or need your products or services
They talk you up at events and with people they meet
What are the benefits of being a Referral Maker?
The chances are, when that person comes to you and says “Can you do me a favor?” you are not going to say no.They are depositing so much into your life that when it comes to making a withdrawal they are pretty sure you will be willing to help.
When have you ever needed help with something? Have you had trouble thinking of someone to ask?
The Referral Maker knows that when they ask, there are very few that will turn them down, assuming it’s not illegal or immoral of course 😀.
Becoming a Referral Maker
It takes time, effort and yes, work, to become a referral maker. It’s not something that will happen overnight and maybe not for months or longer, depending on your industry.
It’s an attitude change and you need some solid time management skills to make it work.
Communication is critical to becoming a successful Referral Maker:
Respond to emails and phone calls within hours, if possible (not days)
If you find something that may be useful to someone you know, share it with them and don’t assume they already know
Send a birthday card, Christmas card, Thanksgiving card... in fact just send cards for no reason at all
Pass referrals whenever you can - try to pass qualified referrals and introductions, not just names and numbers
Share social media posts, tweeks, articles, etc for the person and the company and let everyone know how good they are. Just liking isn’t enough nowadays, but it’s better than nothing
Offer to volunteer for good causes, committees, host events, etc.
Keep a business card holder handy for passing out other people’s business cards. That means carrying more than one card for each person
This list can go on and one, and some of you may already think it does. This is a good list to get you started.
it takes time, and you may have a lot of connections you want to start working with but start small. Pick one or two close connections and commit to small changes and activities. You can spend more time on it as you get used to the commitment.
Obviously, some things will take more time than others. Just don’t start doing something you can’t commit to long-term. It looks worse when you stop doing something, rather than not doing it at all.
What are the things you do to become a Referral Maker with people you know?
Let me know in the comments below.
Together, we can make it a great year!