How to increase referrals in your business…

The Coordinated Referral…

Discover how you can put the coordinated referral to work in your business to dramatically increase the number of referrals you’re getting and make more money!

So, what is the coordinated referral and how can it help you increase the number of referrals your business receives?

Great question, I’m glad you asked.

The coordinated referral differs from and is magnificently more powerful than any standard referral, because it’s a proactive method for generating referrals.

What you need to know:

There are three things that need to happen for your customers to refer you and your business.

1. Your customer has to be engaged in a conversation where it makes sense to refer you.
2. They have to realize this is a conversation where they should refer you.
3. They have to introduce you into the conversation and refer you as a viable solution.

Left to chance you’ll obviously get some referrals here and there, you already know you get referrals. The problem is, it doesn’t happen as often as it should and you have customers now who should be referring you but aren’t.

So how do you fix this?

With what I like to call “The Coordinated Referral” this is a system you can use to proactively tell your customers exactly when and how they should be referring you. Don’t worry, you won’t come across as being pushy, in fact, you won’t have to pressure them at all.

The psychology of a referral for your customers actually makes them feel good and gives them a sense of power. They feel good because they’ve helped a friend solve a problem and they also feel good they’ve been able to send you another customer. (All this of course is assuming you’ve done them a good job in the past) 🙂

By doing this, your referral rates will increase by as much as double and possibly even triple what you’re seeing now.

To understand the coordinated referral better. Let’s look at the three types of referrals so you can see why the coordinated referral is so powerful.

Three types of referrals…

1. Non-active – This type of referral just happens. Your customer tells their friend about you, the friend calls you and asks to do business. This is a great referral and gives you a lot of leverage in the sale.
2. Active – This referral is where your customer calls you and says their friend needs your services. Now you have to call your customers friend and introduce yourself. This type of referral still gives you leverage for the sale but not as much as the non-active referral.
3. The Coordinated referral – This is where you actually let your customer know exactly when to refer you, as well as how to refer you. This gives you the most leverage for the sale because now your customer has actually been instructed on what to do and how to do it, which will result in giving you the utmost leverage for winning the sale.

The Coordinated Referral System And How It Works

Here’s how you make it happen:

You get in touch with your customer. You can do this through email, direct mail (snail mail, this is our preferred option in the form of a postcard) or even a phone call.

You let them know about the conversations they’re likely to engage in (this is really easier to do than you might think) and then tell them exactly what it is you want them to do, when they find themselves in the conversation you just mentioned.

Examples conversations your customers may have:

So that leaves us with, what conversations are your customers engaged in?

This will actually change throughout the year and while I can’t say exactly what conversation your specific customers are having, I’ll give you a few examples to get the creative juices flowing.

Boat mechanic:

With cold weather upon us (at least it is while I’m writing this), your prospects may be having conversations with other boat owners who are concerned with the adverse effects cold weather can have on a boat. I actually know this conversation is happening because I had it with a friend a couple weeks ago.

Home contractor, Window installer, HVAC contractor and remodeler:

Your customers are very likely having conversations about how their house is cold and their power bills are high.

CPA, Financial advisor, Retirement advisor:

It’s February now and people are concerned with the taxes they may have to pay.

Meat Market:

It’s cold and people who love to grill are put off by not being able to do it in the freezing weather.

Day Spa:

Again, it’s cold and your customers are having conversations with other people who are cold and don’t like it.

What you tell your customer to say during these conversations:

What could you have your customer tell these people? “Hey, I have a spa (insert your industry here) I go to and they have a booklet about six ways to (insrert how you can help them here) get your circulation moving better and staying warm this winter, they give it away free, want me to get you one?”

What happens after the customer has the conversation & how do you get the referral:

Once the person your customer is talking with says yes, the customer calls you, let’s you know who the referral is and get’s a booklet to take to them.

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