Generating referrals is a powerful way to grow your client portfolio, but getting your network to send them your way can be challenging. In fact, one innocent mistake could be stopping your network from sending you referrals altogether. In this blog post, we’ll explore a scenario that illustrates the common mistakes people make when trying to generate referrals and provide insights and strategies to help you maximize the number of referrals you receive. By the end of this post, you’ll have actionable tips to start generating more referrals from your network.
Referral mistake
In one of the Facebook groups I regularly frequent, there was a request for a speaker with expertise in ‘Design thinking’. I, like many of the people in the group, assumed this meant an expert in ‘Design’ and made appropriate recommendations. It then transpired that ‘Design thinking’ is actually nothing to do with the discipline of design. (Who’d have thought it!!). And, that, I thought, was that.
Until I received a polite note from a friend saying that she would have been a great fit for this opportunity. It wasn’t an antagonist note, and there was no hint of malice, aggression or negativity.
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Why didn’t I recommend my friend for the opportunity?
Let’s see beyond the obvious, i.e. I didn’t know what ‘Design thinking’ actually was, and go a little deeper. I knew my friend for one set of expertise, not anything related to ‘Design thinking’.
So there was a disconnect with how my friend had been communicating her expertise to both myself, but also her wider network. This was severely hampering her referral generation from her network.
When you think about how a referral is actually triggered, it is a combination of the following:
- an opportunity occurs, e.g. the request on the Facebook group
- credibility, i.e. who do you know who is credible in this area?
- visibility, i.e. who pops into your mind?
- goodwill, i.e. who do you like and want to help?
The challenge my friend faced, and many of us face, is the credibility factor. If we don’t educate our network on the types of people we work with and the value we bring to them, then very simply, we won’t get referrals from our network for the types of opportunities we really want.
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What gets in the way of effectively educating our network about what we do? I.e. to help with referral generation
There are many things which stop us from educating our network effectively. These could be:
Not specialist enough: This is the situation where you are trying to be too many things to too many people. You often see this when people say they specialise in broad swathes of their marketplace such as ‘high net worth individuals’, ‘SMEs’, ‘entrepreneurs’, and ‘large corporates’.
Too many specialisms: This isn’t quite the same as not being specialist enough. This is where someone has many specialisms, and so stops being memorable for everything they do. The more information you give to your network to remember about you, the stronger the likelihood that they will forget the key things they need to remember.
Not enough profile-building activities: We are all busy people these days. As a result, we spend less and less one-on-one time with people. This means that the day-to-day stuff we communicate via social media is very important for letting people know what we do and the results we achieve. This could be via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and your blog. If you expect your network to remember what you do ONLY via limited face-to-face interactions, you will miss out on referrals.
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Read: The 4 ingredients you need to understand to start getting more referrals
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In summary:
In conclusion, the success of your referral generation efforts hinges on the messages you communicate about yourself and what you do. You must communicate the right messages if you want your network to become your best referral generation source. This means being clear about the kind of work you do and the value you provide to your clients. Doing so will make it easy for your network to refer you regularly and to the right kind of work.
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Remember, effective referral generation is all about building strong relationships, providing value, and communicating your message clearly. By focusing on these key factors, you’ll be well on your way to generating more referrals and growing your business.
If you’d like a bit of help to get referrals and win work for your firm this guide is for you! Get your hands on my free guide to getting referrals (over 50 tried and tested tips to help your network pass more work to you. Click to Get the Guide Here.
