A.C. Nielson reports a referral is up to 4 times more likely to buy than someone who comes to you cold.
But best-selling author of The Referral Engine, John Jantsch found that 79.9% of businesses have no system for getting referrals.
Once again, 80/20 rule applies. 20% get the vast majority of referrals. 80% miss out.
If you’re not getting all the referrals you want, here’s how to fix it. Fast.
Create a Referral Kit which your referrers can hand out on your behalf.
A Referral Kit is a package of information which explains the issues your prospects face and how you could solve them. It’s educational in nature and does not blatantly sell.
Why go to this trouble?
Giving a referral can be risky and a balancing act.
You’re recommending someone. Great if it works out.
But what if it doesn’t ? Will you look bad?
And the person requesting the referral is asking you to do the sale on your behalf. Something you may be uncomfortable doing.
A referral pack allows your referrers to simply hand this package to a prospect. “Here’s something you might find useful.”
It’s easy to give away. It takes away any pressure they may feel. And it allows the referee’s to take action in their own time.
Your kit could contain:
- Articles written by you that your target audience would find interesting.
- Discussion papers which answer common problems in your market and position you as the expert who can help.
- A book you’ve published on your topic.
- Interviews on your topic (both where you’re the interviewer and interviewee)
- Case studies and testimonials
- And of course, a call to action encouraging them to call you.
Try using different media. A combination of written word, audio and video can work extremely well as it caters for different consumption styles. (Some people prefer reading, others listening and watching.)
The key is to make the pack something your referrers would happily hand out as it reflects well on them as the giver.
“I saw this and though you’d find it interesting” rather than “I think you could use X’s services”.
Now, for those of you quailing at the prospect of creating all this, relax.
Start simply and build up from there.
Repurpose some of the marketing material you probably have lying around.
For example, a Financial Planner client uses an “Investment Insights” report they create every quarter as an excellent giveaway.
If you create newsletters, bundle up a few and use those.
Got some good testimonials? Include them.
The key is to get started.
Still feeling overwhelmed or just want to have it done for you?
We can help you create your referral engine so that you always have a steady stream of good quality prospects knocking on your door.
And finally, the kit alone is not enough.
You must have a strategy for getting it out there and into the hands of referral partners. We have a proven strategy to do this. Contact us for more information and to get started to getting more good quality referral business.
Rashid & Barbara.
