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Private Referral Lesson #2 of 4
"The Single Greatest Strategies to Exploding Your
Referrals."
~~~ Eliminating
Your Referral Fears ~~~
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Today's lesson is rather long.
In fact, I suggest you re-read
it a few times. If you don't
have time now, save it for
later. That's because I'll be revealing
to you...
How To
Eliminate Your Silent, Inner
Fears
About Discussing Referrals With
Your Clients and Others, Once
and For All.
We
touched on this somewhat in
Lesson 1.
And I assure you, if you follow
today's advice, you will
revolutionize your efforts. It's
that powerful.
Now, let's get into Lesson 2---
Let's begin with understanding
two letters: D-V. They stand for
the words "Damage Verge."
A key element to blasting your
referral efforts through
the roof is understanding what I
call the Concept of Damage
Verge.
Bear with me as I explain.
Human nature and psychology
being what it is, most
professionals are uncomfortable
asking a client or colleague for
a referral. It doesn't matter if
it's a family member, business
associate or a client you've
helped over the last 20
years. For some strange reason,
talking about referrals
is downright scary (we covered
why in Lesson 1).
I hear 'arguments' all the time
about actively discussing
referrals with clients. They go,
something like:
"I don't ask my clients for
referrals, I earn them..."
"My clients will refer me when
they're ready..."
"If I ask, I'll appear salesy or
it will cheapen my image..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Let me be direct as a Marine
Corps drill sergeant, because I
hate to waste my time:
QUIT
kidding yourself!
If you ACTUALLY think people are
going to take time from their
busy little world... with their
job headaches... family
interests... picking the kids up
from practice... errands to
run... appointments they have to
run to... to ever refer you
business CONSISTENTLY, then I've
got some prim-o Everglades real
estate I want to talk to you
about.
Gunnery Sgt. Terrence Whitcomb,
is the TOUGHEST man in America.
He's so BAD, he's rated tops
among 1,000 Marine Corps drill
instructors.
He's a headstrong, ball of fire
you don't screw around with.
Some say he eats
glass for lunch while he shouts
in anger at PFC recruits,
"Just KEEP DOIN' IT 'til you get
TIRED, SWEETHEART!"
And he's right. You can keep
wishing and hoping -- sweetheart
-- and you'll go broke waiting
for referrals.
The point is, get past your fear
of "asking" for referrals.
You're being contained by two
scary words that stem from human
fear and emotion: Damage Verge.
Stay with me now---
What I'm referring to is nothing
more than a psychological
barrier where as a professional,
you imagine the worst possible
thing happening, assuming you
ask a client for a referral. And
before you can ever convince
yourself how
to "talk" about referrals with
your clients, your brain kicks
into warp speed and says
silently to yourself:
"I can't ask them for a
referral, they might get mad at
me... feel upset... be
uncomfortable... (insert your
excuse here)... or worse yet,
they'll just say no."
That's a worst-case scenario.
And it's protecting a
psychological Damage Verge that
you hold aimlessly in your mind.
We see ourselves offending
someone, being presumptuous,
asking the wrong way, feeling
embarrassed, ruining a prized
relationship.
We get concerned -- downright
scared -- that by somehow
talking about the subject of
referrals, we'll bring big
damage to the relationship. So
rather than approach the
"Verge," we avoid it at nearly
all costs -- rarely ever
bringing referral-talk to life.
What a waste.
What to do? Look at The Key
Concept.
_________________________
The Key Concept.
You must test your Verges.
There are three ways to do this:
1. Be in tune to your client's
communication style.
Verges are different for every
client and customer
depending on their communication
style. Some clients
like to be treated directly and
can handle straight talk.
Others are more timid or
uncomfortable. Understanding
your
client's style of communication
and receptiveness to your
goal of building more business
will go a long way in
communicating with them.
2. Know how to 'ask' for
referrals. No subject invokes
more
fear than the thought of sitting
down with a client and
'asking them' for referrals. So
don't. That's right, don't
ask. As I said in Lesson 1, I
want you to re-think your
approach: Seek "personal
recommendations" from clients.
(More on this in Lesson 3).
3. Practice with your C-level
clients then move up to A-level
clients. It goes without saying
that you should practice on
relationships that aren't as
valuable as your top
clients. That's not egotistical.
But building self-
confidence and enthusiasm -- and
seeing referral results --
comes easier and faster if
you're less worried about
jeopardizing your relationships.
And C-level clients...
well... let's just say they're
C-level clients.
In each scenario, if you read
carefully, you see that you went
very slowly in testing your
Damage Verge with a client.
Remember, you're trying to get
as close as you can to the
subject of asking for referrals
from your clients without
really doing any serious damage.
Imagine it like stepping near
thin, fragile, frozen ice --
without ever falling through.
Don't break the 'Verge.' But
test it.
We'll get into specifics of
"how" and how to ask next time.
But for now, go for it. You'll
be amazed.
___________ L e s s o n 2 R e
c a p ___________
Action Steps
-- Remind yourself that seeking
referrals is okay (Lesson 1).
-- Tune in to your client's
communication styles.
-- Seek personal recommendations
about yourself.
-- Test damage verges; practice
with C-level clients.
__________________________________________________
I'll be back in touch with you
in few days,
Daryl Logullo
Founder
Maximum Referrals, a division of
Strategic Impact
http://www.MaximumReferrals.com
_____________________________________________________________
In Our Next Lesson:
(Sent by e-mail in appx. 3 days)
+ "How to Discuss Referrals with
Confidence -- What to Say?"
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