Len Bruskiewitz
In a perfect world, we would provide our service to a client and assuming we did a good job, that person would start telling their colleagues and all we would need to do is sit back and let the referral business roll in. The reality is that effective referral networking requires a two pronged approach. First we need to exchange referrals with professionals and customers who already know us and are familiar with the quality of our work; a tool like Referral Key helps track and manage those referrals. Second, we must build relationships via an open dialog with those who are not comfortable with us yet.
To this end, it is important that we build an ongoing communication stream with the people we want to recommend us. This serves multiple purposes; it reminds them that we are an expert in our field who is willing to share that expertise with them and it keeps us “top of mind” so that when an opportunity to refer comes up, they remember us. There are a number of ways to build these types of relationships (in-person meetings, webinars, direct mail, etc.) but the most efficient is via an Email Newsletter sent through a service that creates a professional-looking message that is trackable. These newsletters can be short – no more than a paragraph or two – but as long as they are providing valuable content to the recipient, they meet the dual objective of confirming your expertise and staying in touch with potential referrers. When thinking about newsletter content, always try to make sure that after reading it, your recipients will either feel “smarter” or “cooler” than they did before. If instead, your recipients will feel like they just endured a long sales pitch, start over again.
A real-life example of how this works is a Human Resources consultant who sends out a few sentences in her monthly newsletter regarding issues relevant to Human Resources personnel. Within a few hours of sending the newsletter, her phone rings and she gets business either from one of her recipients or someone that received a forwarded copy of it. Many times, the business has nothing to do with the content of her newsletter but is a result of her sending useful information and building relationships through regular communication.
Building relationships through a dialog with your current clients and members of your business network is crucial to generating referrals – and it is easy to get started. Share your expertise and you will be on your way to building your referral network.
Len Bruskiewitz
Sr. Director, Partner Programs
Calling all referral networkers! Here are are some tips from the pros to help you keep those referrals flowing.
