How many times have you seen someone request a service in a Facebook group and hundreds of comments pop up with things like, “Me!” or “I’ll PM you!” Probably way too many to count, right?
But what sticks out when you’re watching those comments pile up? Those people who recommend someone for the job are the comments that stand out!
Why? Because when someone recommends someone else for a job, the message that is being sent to the entire world is that the said person being referred is stellar at what they do! And, it speaks even more highly of that person when multiple people recommend the same person!
Talk about that credibility and trust factor! Those people who are doing the referring are building that referral’s potential client list without even really knowing it!
When you start becoming the person who is referred for jobs across all different social media outlets and in-person conversations, there are a few of things that could happen: 1) you are flooded with potential leads that are great fits for you and create a database for you to pull from on a consistent basis or 2) you are flooded with people who are not potential clients and cause you more stress than you needed or 3) you don’t use those referrals to your benefit and leave money wasted out there on the table!
You don’t want to be in either of the last two scenarios, trust me! You’re in business to help others and create a lifestyle for yourself that you want and deserve. So why are you letting referrals sit there without being touched or letting the “bad egg” referrals that come your way stress you out? It doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, you can actually leverage those referrals and use them to your benefit to increase profit in your business and build up your database of potential leads!
So what the heck do you do with referrals once they start piling in because of your amazing services and products? Let me give you a little insight on what I’ve been able to do with my referrals to use them to my benefit:
Build rapport with your Facebook friends and followers that you haven’t even met yet.
This is huge for leveraging those referrals to get the most out of them that you can! When people see you being referred by others in groups or in social circles, you automatically start seeing friend requests pile into your inbox. Build those relationships up and create authentic connections with those people so that you have a know, like, trust factor that keeps those people referring you, too!
Offer something of value in return for the referral!
This might be another one of those key points to using referrals to your benefit. Let’s say you have a seriously awesome program that you know everyone would benefit from, and you have people referring you out for work to their friends. How can you create more of a referral system and utilize the referrals to create even more referrals? Give those who refer you to others a discount on your awesome package or a discount on your services. Maybe a percentage off or one free month of a program – whatever feels best for you! Just remember that treating those referrals with VIP status will keep them continuing to refer you out to all of their friends and colleagues.
Always thank the referrer for their referral!
Referring someone to another person can be kind of scary for the person who is doing the referring. Maybe the person they refer out won’t do the job as well as the referrer had hoped, or maybe the referred messes up something monumentally, making the referrer look “incompetent”. While that is certainly not true because actions are controlled only by the person performing the actions (and not the referrer), there is a certain level of responsibility that comes with referring people out. If someone takes a chance on referring you out, make sure you thank that person for their referral and promise them that you will do your best to uphold their level of expectation they have of your services to the new client! This will go a long way in terms of creating trust and continuing the referral process.
Keep the referrer in the loop about the success for both parties of the new business relationship.
If someone refers your services out to another person and a business relationship is formed, the status of that business relationship is important to the referrer. They want to ensure that the relationship they helped form is going well and was as good of a fit as they had thought! So keep them in the loop – keep them updated on how things are going and share with them the wins you experience in the new business relationship! You’ll make them feel better, and you’ll show that you can uphold your end of a referral bargain by providing quality service!
Referrals are the best way to build relationships and create that know, like, trust factor that everyone looks for when choosing someone to work with! Remember how you feel when you refer someone’s services out to another person – do you feel a little scared of the outcome, nervous they won’t get along, or excited to see how things will progress and hope to be kept in the loop? Treat the people who refer your services to others with the most respect, and your referrals will RISE! Leverage those referrals to keep the referrals coming in on a steady basis, and you will see nothing but increased profit and visibility!