After reading a new book on referrals, I was shocked! The author opened with a story of an occasion when he asked for referrals. He talked about how he chased his client out to his car to keep the referral conversation going. When the client said, “I really don’t have the time right now,” the author responded with, “Sure you do. It will only take a couple of minutes.”
He made his referral process all about him! The author had the audacity to tell his client, “Now that you’re a client, you’ve created a problem for me; now I have to replace you with another prospect.” As if that’s the client’s problem - why should he even care?
This book is so old school that it makes me wonder what rock the author has been under for all these years.
I hope you’re taking a more enlightened, more productive approach to referrals by:
- Making the request all about your value - of the process, meeting, and/or relationship; and
- Exploring the concerns of clients who don’t want to give referrals, without chasing them until they give in!