Back To Basics: Make It Easier For People To Refer You

We’re in a countrywide lockdown and some companies are not going to make it. That could be someone you know ...

"Working smarter doesn’t always mean making radical changes, sometimes it just means paying more attention to the basics!"

The one I believe will have the biggest difference is to make it easy for your contacts to spot an opportunity for you. When we’re stressed and worried how we’re going to pay the bills this month ... and the only phone calls are to cancel ... it’s hard to think about other people’s businesses.

The key is to plant a few (maximum 3) key triggers words or phrases in your contacts brain so that when they see or hear them mentioned, you automatically pop into their head!

Right now, the most usual way your contacts will be interacting with their network is online. You need them to spot these triggers in email subject headers, blog post, social media posts and comments on other people’s posts. However, we are in the early days of the lockdown so remind them of people they already know as well as people they jus spot online.

You will have to prime your network to look at these before they automatically delete them. Here’s mine to give you the example.

- Look out for: As you trawl through your emails and social media postings, or attend online networking groups, can you look out for people who have recently set up their own consultancy business support services.

- What will you notice in their words: They will be trying to remain positive, but you will instinctively feel their inexperience and/or desperation. They may be looking for alternatives to going networking.

- What questions to ask them: When you ask them who they want to meet they respond with, "Anyone who needs a ...". Or they might say, "It was ... but they all seem to have locked down so now I’ll take anyone".

You then suggest they talk to me for a free no-obligation conversation about how to get referrals during the time we're all in lockdown.

Once you’ve worked up your own version of this, arrange a video or phone one-to-one with key people in your network and share it with them. Remember, the very best way to stimulate referrals is to give them so help them to make it easy for you to refer them by getting their key trigger words.

If you'd like to learn more about referral marketing then do give me a call on 07970 638857 and let's have a chat and see how I can help you.