Okay, How do you get massive amounts of referrals?

Thanks for all the emails and questions. I appreciate them all.  I thought I’d address the most common question; how do I get referrals?

Well, it’s kind of like asking how do I get from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’?  What I mean is most of us jump into the car and drive from point A to point B without ever thinking about it.

The reality is the car is made up of a lot of parts. There’s a foundation to the car, a frame, engine, seats, lights, doors, radio, heater, etc.  The same can be said about referrals.

If you’re expecting people to fall all over themselves to rush you names of people they know so you can get buckets of referrals well, I’ve got some ocean front property for you in Yuma, Arizona.

There’s a foundation to getting referrals. The first step (similar to the frame of a car) is to change your mindset about referrals. You should expect to receive those referrals. Once you’ve changed your mindset you also need to realize that most people you meet with assume that everyone meets with you under the same circumstances (if door-knocking, cold-calling, etc).

If your Prospect was referred to you he/she would assume that’s the way you get all of your business. Referrals have a synergy to them. They feed and multiply.

But, before you can get that synergy you’ve got to change your mindset about how you get your Prospects. For example, if you cold-door-knocked your Prospect and got the business your Prospect will assume that’s the way you get all of your business.

This is not good because you want everyone to assume they need to give you referrals.

So, how do you get boat loads of referrals? I’ve talked about mining your natural market, your spheres of influence. I’ve talked about how you can generate referrals through your current contacts.  You acquire massive amounts of referrals by developing a well thought out plan of action for getting those referrals.

First, ask for referrals.  You’ve got to ask.  Get used to asking.  Make asking for referrals a part of you.  The more you practice asking for referrals the more likely you’ll be comfortable and confident with your Prospect when you ask.  Utilize the steps in Mining Your Natural Market.  Your Golden 50 contacts are perfect for practicing asking for referrals.  Also, become good at recognizing the areas during your presentation where you can acquire a referral without really asking.

I’ve often used the Profile of your presentation as the perfect spot to ask for referrals.  There are many other opportunities.  The key point is to make those opportunities part of the process.  There’s an old saying that once you internalize the info it becomes a part of you, part of your personality, the way you conduct business.  I cover this in “Magnetic Referral Prospecting”.  Practice asking, practice your presentation, make asking for referrals natural, step it up to the next level and get referrals without really asking.

I’ll be covering more of this in the future.  In the mean time make asking for referrals normal operating procedure and your Prospect will assume that’s the way you do business and provide names of people for you.

Until next time, happy Selling!

David…