My latest e-newsletter went out yesterday. In it I talked about the importance of identifying who is a bad referral for you. I used the example of a realtor friend of mine who got a referral outside of his licensed jurisdiction. He thought it was a bad referral because he couldn’t service the client.
Within moments of sending the newsletter, I got an email from another realtor chiding me for my example. He would have liked a referral like that because he could give it to another realtor and get a referral fee.
I thanked him for his email because he illustrated beautifully the importance of clear communication about referrals. One person’s bad is another person’s good. If you aren’t clear about that, you might be missing out or getting referrals you don’t want.
Don’t assume your network knows what you want. Conversely, don’t assume you know what the individuals in your network want. Have the conversation. Clearly communicate what you are looking for and ask others to communicate the same to you.
Anyone have stories to share about how good communication led to better referrals? Or how not-so-good communication led to the opposite?
Tags: communication, Networking, Referrals