If you’ve been following my strategies for a while, you know that I view the word “referrals” as a “for internal use only” word. When talking with our clients, prospects, and centers of influence, I favor using the word “introductions.”
Why? Because that’s what we need these days. I think the days of walking away with names and phone numbers are pretty much over. Because people are much harder to reach than ever, we need our referral source to pave the way for us in some manner.
'Safe and Effective’
When the FDA (Federal Drug Administration) evaluates a new drug for approval in the marketplace, it uses this criterion: Is the drug safe and effective? When turning your referrals into introductions, I think this is a great expression to use with the person giving you the referrals. By safe, of course, we mean comfortable for both the referral source and the prospect. Giving you referrals/introductions must feel safe to your clients or they won’t do it.
“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, as well as proves effective.”
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 “safe” with “comfortable,” if you wish.)
When your referral source takes a hand in crafting the introduction, two things happen:
- They become more invested in the success of the introduction.
- They gain the necessary confidence to make the introduction and not wimp out.
Guidelines for Creating Safe and Effective Introductions
- In person, introductions are usually the best – especially when dealing with higher-level prospects. Take your referral source and the prospect to lunch or dinner for the introduction. Don’t talk business unless they bring it up. Use this as an opportunity to build trust and rapport before asking for a business meeting.
- As mentioned above, 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 read and respond to my e-mail?”
- Always agree on a timeframe for the introduction. If you can help it, never create an introduction with an open timeframe. “When do you think you’ll have a chance to send that email to Sandy, so I can be on the lookout for it and follow through in a timely manner?”
Whenever you ask for referrals, always be thinking, “Safe and Effective Introductions.”