Do It! Marketing Blog: Marketing for Smart People™

Marketing Coach: How to never feel cheated about referrals

21

Too many small and solo business owners get bent out of shape about referrals - they don’t get enough, or they give too many that go unappreciated, or they expect payment without ever asking for payment or making their expectations clear.

It’s just a mess.
So to help YOU avoid disappointment on both sides of the equation, here’s a template you can borrow - adapt - steal - whenever someone GIVES YOU a referral:

===

Susan,

Thank you so much for the referral to Paul - I appreciate you.

Will keep you posted as to what develops.

Thinking optimistically - assuming Paul signs on as a client - how do you like to handle referrals financially speaking?

I'm happy to give some referral partners a 10% thank-you gift (for working with folks like Paul, the typical fee is XXXX so 10% is YYY) - some other folks just prefer a nice dinner out via a gift card - and some folks who refer business to me insist on nothing more than good karma and reciprocation when appropriate.

Just let me know and then we can bust the doors down for Paul!!

-- David

===

On the other hand, when GIVING a referral, and if that referral shows up at your referral partner’s door, this version of the same note might help you STOP feeling like a martyr and set clear expectations from the get-go that you DO like to be compensated while asking your referral partner what arrangement would make them comfortable:

===

Susan,

I’m so glad Paul ended up connecting with you and that you two discussed the possibility of working together. Please do keep me posted as to what develops.

Thinking optimistically - assuming Paul signs on as a client - how do you like to handle referrals financially speaking?

Some of my referral partners share a 10% cash referral fee - some other folks underwrite a nice dinner out via a gift card - and others show their appreciation in other ways (services, discounts, lavish gift baskets, etc).

Just let me know how you like to operate and that will open the door for even more introductions to great folks like Paul in the future.

I appreciate you.

-- David

 

Grab your FREE copy of the Strategic Marketing eBook.

Are you a DO IT freak? Welcome to the club!! Please use the social media buttons at the top of this post to share it with your network. YOU are a rock star!

 


Tags: marketing for speakers, marketing for coaches, client references, referral blurb, professional services marketing, trusted advisor marketing, marketing for authors, marketing for consultants, referral marketing, referrals, business strategy, professional services selling

Marketing Speaker - A New Kind of Reference

Marketing speaker, marketing coach Philadelphia PAI got a phone call a few days ago from my friend Steve who is a fellow independent professional. He said to me at the beginning of the call, "David, I'm calling you as a reference."

So I'm thinking, "OK, he wants to hire someone I've worked with or someone I know - perhaps even a client of mine whose testimonial he saw on my website."

I say, "Steve, what can I do for you?"

And then he mentions someone's name. Let's call this person Larry. Now I like Larry and he's a good guy - perhaps a little confused about his marketing and messaging... and frankly that's OK because Larry is NOT a client of mine (although I've given him plenty of chances!)

Steve stops me and says, "No, no... I don't want to hire Larry. Larry wants to hire me. I'm calling you to ask you what kind of client do you think he would be?"

Wow. It's not a consultant reference, speaker reference, or service provider reference - Steve was asking me (essentially) "Would this guy be a good client?" FYI Steve saw me connected to Larry through LinkedIn and some other social media sites.

Lessons for YOU:

  • We live in a hyper-connected world
  • People DO read your social media profiles
  • People DO judge you on the "company you keep" both online and off
  • If you're a pain in the ass - as a consultant, speaker, vendor, partner, OR client... word will spread faster than you can imagine
  • The top people in their field (ahem, YOU) do not have the bandwidth nor the interest to work with folks who are a pain in the butt
  • YOU can't afford to be a pain in the butt on EITHER side of the professional services buying equation

Comments? What do you think? Have you had some experiences to share along these lines? Would love to hear from you in the Comments section below...


Tags: marketing speaker, client references, small business, marketing, marketing coach, clients