POWER OF REFERRALS

In today’s economy, more and more companies are relying on the power of employee referrals. Long viewed as the most effective way to attract quality hires, referrals enable companies to decrease turnover, reduce costs, and improve productivity. Referral power largely depends on the influence of the person giving the referral.

Some employee referral advantages choosing a person that you know well (character, qualifications etc), save cost & time vs. advertisement. Some referral business is unsurpassed; and on the other, people are passive about developing their referrals.

It’s a common sense, but not typical practice. The average business without full price existence has several programs for generating new customer leads namely, Yellow Pages, local paper advertising and word-of-mouth recommendations.  Of these methods of prospecting, testimonials recommendations are the least expensive.

Generating 100% of your business from referrals should NOT be your goal when your business plans on rolling out new products, introducing new services, or entering new territories. By definition, you’re going to be receiving fewer in such situations; you may want to include targeted marketing as part of your rollouts

To the person, they’ve said that a referred client is pre-sold, the referred salesperson has credibility and trustworthiness, the competition decreases or disappears, and that they end  up with a new client a minimum of 50 percent—but more likely between 75 and 95 percent—of the time. Oh, and not only are referral customers more profitable, but they also will be the first to give a referral to others.

Here’s the four keys principle’ of referrals

1) Having a strong belief in referrals – you have to believe that you are going to get them. Never ask for referrals expecting a negative result.

2) Being bold in asking prospective – if an individual gives you one referral, they are willing to give more referral clients, make it a goal to ask for referrals in every meeting you will have.

3) Be Yourself – If you sincerely believe in yourself and your abilities, your clients will follow by telling their friends to meet with you.

4) Compensation – “Would you rather give referrals or pay a fee?” Not only does giving referrals allow clients to avoid an invoice, but people recognize the value of the work and are genuinely pleased to compensate for quality referrals.

The best way to get clients is by CONNECTING other business owners who might need your services. The two essential things to consider are your contacts and reputation.  It is one of the most important lessons to learn in this time to encounter and find client through referrals, not through cold sales.

Give yourself the edge over your competitors by harnessing the power of referrals. It won’t automatically come to you.  You will need to make them happen.  Whatever you can think of but don’t wait for referrals to come to you.  Go out and get them!