Want Others to Refer You Without Having to Ask?

We have mentioned before the importance word-of-mouth has for your business growth. Referrals are critical to achieve success in business, and your goal must be to get them without having to ask for them.

How exactly do you do that? How do you inspire people so much so as to make them speak well about you to others? It’s very easy and very hard at the same time, but you must give worthwhile incentives to the people who refer you.

Finding the best incentive for everyone is not easy, as all of us are moved by different things and have very varied interests. In the past, the most widely-used incentive was fees, and although it is OK to give them in some situations, fees may not hit the mark in regards to what people really care about.

Sometimes all it takes is the person’s name on a list. Consider this example of a very valuable and not monetary incentive:

A while ago, Mark referred his best friend, Gerard, to his dentist. About a month later, it was Mark’s time for an appointment, and as soon as he got to the dentist’s office, he noticed the bulletin board that was notably displayed at the entrance. The bulletin stated something like this: ‘We wish to thank these patients for referring someone to us last month’.

The sign, Mark recalled, had been there always, but this time it had his name on it. He was very pleased, even smiled, but that was it… until a month later, when Mark had to return to continue his treatment and his name was gone from the list. Immediately he started thinking about another person to refer, just to see his name in there again.

This may not matter to everyone, but it does matter to many people. The key is to find as many worthwhile incentives as possible to reach as many people as possible.

The bulletin board has two strengths: it permanently reminds patients that the office wants referrals, and it recognizes people for their efforts. Other valuable incentives may be:

- Free consultations
- Gift baskets
- Wine bottles
- Flowers
- Certificates for your services or other important complementary benefits
- Free estimates, samples, or tests
- Free additional products or services
- Discounts
- Time extensions
- Phone consultation privileges
- Extended life memberships
- Extended warranties

Incentives help you sell more products or services to your actual customers in a shorter period of time. No matter the type of incentive you select, just by offering it you are highly increasing your potential for generating word-of-mouth business.

But, you shouldn’t offer just any incentive. You must be certain that you are selecting one that works for you. In order to do this, ask others. You can invite some acquaintances to dinner. Make sure they meet your customers, partners, and friends’ profiles, because the purpose of the gathering is for them to suggest incentives you could offer to encourage word-of-mouth without asking for it directly.

The key here is creativity. Most people are natural helpers; however, they will be more willing to act if they are recognized for their efforts. They feel really great when a referral works; thus, take the time to let them know it was a success.

Every time you meet people that have been referred to you, take the time to get to know them and say something nice about the person who referred you, because it is all about karma!

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention meetingwave.com as the original source).