I have over 1,500 names of business contacts in my Outlook folder. But there’s only about 100 business people that I know well enough to accept a referral from me. I have earned the right to make referrals to these busy people because of my prior interactions with them. So when I make a referral to them for you, it’s because I value my relationship with them and not necessarily because I’m doing you a favor. And I expect you to treat that referral like gold because how you handle the referral is a reflection on me.
Rick Roberge hammered this very issue home in his recent blog posting, “Why am I calling?” A guy could have received a great referral from Rick to one of Rick’s trusted contacts but that guy’s reputation with Rick earned him a “No”. A well-deserved “No” in my opinion. And I just loved Rick’s description of this guy in the second to last paragraph! A great lesson and one that made me laugh.
All About Referral Selling 
Let’s see what these guys think.
http://www.linkedin.com/answers/marketing-sales/sales/lead-generation/MAR_SLS_LGN/251384-197161
You’re absolutely correct. Reputation matters. We need to continually keep in touch with our network and add value to them. We should always do great work, but when we’re referred, we have an even greater obligation to take care of the client. Be sure to thank your Referral Source many times and ask how you can help him.