The referral is the most powerful force in the small business universe.
I had a great conversation with my partner Sally today about referrals. To borrow from her point, great referrals represent a steady path of growth to any successful business.
Here's why:
Free is good
A referral is free advertising. According to serious studies conducted in dark recessed laboratories by renowned experts....Free is good!
I'm listening
A referral is someone's strong statement of faith that you do good work, make a great product - that you are worth the money.
Imagine how you'd respond if you just met a woman named Kelly and the first thing she did was tell you how smart she was and that she is an incredibly talented attorney. How would you react? You'd probably cringe a little, put a guard up maybe? 'I don't want to listen to that', you might say to yourself.
Now imagine if a friend of yours recommended Kelly to you. They call you up and offer 'Kelly is smart and talented. She is a great attorney'. Chances are you will respond completely differently to this approach. 'Now I'm listening.', you say to yourself.
The interesting side to this is that nothing has changed about the intelligence or talent level of Kelly. When someone speaks of her, she doesn't have to sound like she is bragging. The messaging delivery has changed and it makes all the difference in the world.
The Time Saver
Referrals save time for the interested party. They don't have to go out and search for a solution. They don't have to waste time filtering through Google results because they have everything they need packaged for them. My motto: Good people find good people.
Speak well of me
When you are being referred, somebody is speaking well of what you do, what you sell, what you stand for. For example, in a service-based business, it's been proven that you are able to make more money from a referral when compared to traditional advertising.
Touchy-feely
A good referral reinforces your brand. A good referral generates better feelings than the indifference many people feel towards advertising. It's human, you can hear the words someone speaks. You can feel their emotional needs were met. It's like sharing your secret. 'Their cream really works!' 'They fixed my network and made my life easier.'
Advertising can hurt your business if not done correctly. The free referral does nothing but add positive value to your business and it's reputation. Some businesses set up incentivized referral programs or do affiliate type of work. This should be a last resort only.
You've heard the saying, 'It's all about who you know'. The referral is a major reason why.
