InfiNET Marketing

How’s Your Business Referral Index?

Ask anyone in business, especially small business owners or independent contractors, and they will tell you – referrals are the life blood of my business. Everyone loves referrals. Referrals often lead to the smoothest deals.

• I’m Never Too Busy to Take Your Referral
• We Appreciate Your Referrals
• We Value Your Business & Appreciate Your Referrals

I see stuff like this all the time on business cards and in email signatures. Bob Burg, author of Endless Referrals, and other referral experts tell us that we need to ask for the referral. Putting slogans like these is part of that process.

When it comes to getting referral business, I think the real magic is in - how much business are you referring to others?

Referring business to others is a natural part of my day. I like referring people to people I know. Often it leads to more business for me, but that is not my motivation. My motivation is that if I like someone and they are good at what they do, why wouldn’t I refer business to them.

I notice that some of the people I refer business to, don’t reciprocate. Sometimes I will address this, sometimes I won’t.

I heard a story once about a Realtor who walked into her dentist’s office and infomred him that she was gong to change dentists. The dentist asked her why, what was wrong. She told him that in the ten years she had been bringing her family of four to him, she had referred dozens of people to his office and not once in that time had he referred any business her way. Her dentist asked her to give him a couple of weeks before she did anything. I forget the number of referrals he gave her that year that turned into closed transactions, but it was double digits.

She also went to her CPA and everyone else whe had been referring business to with similar results.

I think people that don’t refer business to others do so for two main reasons:

• They just don’t think of it. They are self-centered, not in an egotistical way – they are just wrapped up in their own little world and focused on their daily routine.
• They are self-centered on their own survival. Underlying this  is a belief, consciously or unconsciously,  in scarcity.

I encourage everyone to increase their referral index (how much are you referring) as a way of not only growing business, but it is also a great means of expanding one’s world view and social & business networks.

Business Networks International and other networking groups are a great way to learn how to refer business to others.