Cultivating referral sources
Here is a question I recently received: How do I turn my contacts into advocates for my work in their organizations [so I get] more referrals?
A great question! I certainly struggled with this one when I first started my business, and I wish I had found the shortcut I’m about to give you sooner than I did.
Here’s what I learned: All contacts aren’t created equal.
Some people provide you with information, some support you and your business in ways other than providing you with referrals, and some provide you with leads and referrals. Of course, some people do all three — but these are rare.
The most common mistake people make is treating and interacting with all their contacts as if they were all sources of referrals.
This can be a very frustrating experience for you and the other person. And it’s ineffective because it doesn’t get you the results that you want.
For instance, during my first year in business, I regularly asked former colleagues in the corporate sector for referrals. However, most of them didn’t have direct access to my target market, who were typically self-employed professionals or small business owners.
So even though they wanted to help, they often couldn’t.
I realized later that they would have been great referral sources if I had been looking for leads in the corporate sector.
Once I identified better sources of referrals for my new line of business, I got better results. And my interactions with my former colleagues improved as well (I didn’t feel frustrated by their “lack of support” and I’m sure they were relieved to be let off the hook for something they couldn’t do anyway!).
My point is this: first identify who can be a good referral source for you. Then focus your efforts on converting *those* contacts into advocates for you and your work.
Here’s a book that can help you identify people who can be good sources of referrals for you: “Business by Referral”.
I liked this book because it’s easy to read and provides a wide range of strategies and tactics to help you build and use your network. And if you like tools and templates to help you systematize your networking, this book has an appendix full of them.
What the book doesn’t provide, is how to build and sustain these relationships in a natural way. I found some parts of their approach too stilted and “rehearsed”. It didn’t fit my preferred way of interacting with people.
So here’s another resource to complement the book: “Cultivate strong, mutually-beneficial professional relationships“.
The most important part of this program actually is the step-by-step implementation plan. This is where you get 95% of the learning and this is what helps you apply, adapt and integrate the concepts I mention here into your daily life.
I hope you find these resources useful.
Till next time,
– Sri
