Paul McCord has an excellent series of posts on the 4 requirements for a successful referral.
Pillar 1: Your Relationship to Your Client
Pillar 2: Your Client’s Purchasing Experience
Pillar 3: Your Client’s Relationship to the Referred Prospect
Pillar 4: How You Contact Your Referred Prospect
Paul says that clients don’t like to give referrals. I agree, I think they’re much better at being a reference then pro-actively giving you a referral. But referrals can be earned and Paul details the “how” which mostly revolves around your reputation with your client.
What’s really interesting is discussed in Paul’s 3rd pillar. He says, “Your referred prospect will view YOU the same way they view your Client– Good, Bad, or Indifferent” I absolutely agree. Inquisix’s data on the quality of a reputation given shows that the better the relationship between the the person giving the referral and their referred colleague, the better the referral experience. The first hint of a bad referral is how the referral is handled, which is Paul’s 4th Pillar.
So the primary reputation factor in a good referral is not between the person asking and the person giving the referral. Rather, it’s between the person giving the referral and their referred colleague.
Pillars 3 and 4 are why Inquisix allows members to rate each side of the referral via reputation points. If you give a referral, that member will rate you on the quality of the referral given. If you get a referral, that member will rate you on how well you treated their trusted colleague. Your Inquisix reputation rating of giving and getting referrals then becomes the badge that all other members can use to validate your credentials.
Tags: "paul mccord", referral process, Referrals, Reputation
All About Referral Selling 