So today was supposed to be a morning of catching up on “stuff” and really getting ready to kill it this week. What actually happened was four hours of trying to get the car registration done. It ended up being an excellent day though. I caught some podcasts, notice I didn’t say caught UP! Then between patients and meetings this afternoon I had a few phone calls, faxes and emails. There was a reoccurring theme that seemed to jump out at me as I reflect back on my crazy 14 hour Monday.
This theme is built around the subject of referrals and building your network. I think most businesses miss the mark when it comes to handling referrals. As businesses and entrepreneurs we try to do our best to take care of all of our customers. We are proud of our businesses and believe we are providing our customers with our best. This is how we build our businesses and make our living. When we get that referral we introduce them to our system and shoot a quick thanks to the referrer. When we do this we are missing out on such an amazing opportunity. I want to make the point that referrals aren’t just another customer. It is a unique chance to also bring value to the person giving you the referral, and that value is that you get a chance to make the referrer look like a rock star!
My barber does amazing work, if you know me you know I’m picky about my beard, and I tell everyone I know about him. He is just that good! Everyone I have sent has come back blown away, and this guy doesn’t even know I refer to him.
I know though that I am solving a problem for my friends by introducing them to “my guy” which in turn makes me look almost as amazing as a fresh cut from my barber.
So ask yourself, are you truly making the people who refer to you look like a rock star? Is there something you can do better? Do those people go back and tell that person thank you so much for introducing me to your guy? Why or why not? (Credit to: $180 and a Dreampodcast)
The second point I want to make is living in abundance, especially in the area of building your network. I had a conversation with a mentor about how to decide where to give referrals. Who gets your referrals when you have so many choices. His answer was that he wants to refer to everyone. Obviously this isn’t realistically possible, but the thought and attitude behind it really stood out. “Have abundance in the referrals you make!”
The more referrals you make the more referrals that will come back, thus allowing you to make even more referrals and the beautiful cycle continues. Building and expanding your network will create more opportunities for everyone within in it. I think people are afraid to let more people into their network, they are worried about changing the status quo of what they are doing. Business owners can be stingy with their referrals, and they are usually the ones who never have a referral to give! So I have to ask, are you limiting yourself and your entire network by limiting the number of people you refer to.
I hope neither of these points are completely new ideas to anyone, but I think it is such a great reminder to every entrepreneur out there. So I would encourage you to make the person who refers to you look like a rockstar and don’t limit your network because you are afraid to bring more people in.
C
