Yesterday, I talked about how to trigger specific referrals in your civilians. But part of triggering is an explanation of what you mean by “doing business by referral.” lt varies from person to person and profession to profession, and it’s important to educate your civilians (and the rest of your network) on what doing business by referral means to you.
What do I mean? Referrals are referrals, right? Not always. Many attorneys get lots of their work from referrals from other attorneys and only occasionally by referrals from their clients. Real estate agents, however, rely on referrals from their clients to stay in business. They get fewer referrals from other professionals. Therefore, “Working by referral” means something completely different to an attorney than to a real estate agent. Explain what it means to your clients and let them know specifically how they can help you.
And a referral isn’t always to a client. Some people want introductions to organizations who need speakers. Let your civilians know that. Perhaps a home owners’ association brings in subject matter experts to speak on topics of interest to the residents. That could be an excellent referral, but your client won’t know you want it until you ask for it and explain how that is a referral.
What does doing business by referral mean to you? Educate us here!
