One of the aspects of networking that I hear complaints about the most is finding referrals.
The trouble is, by having the mental attitude that something is hard, then guess what it will be? Try thinking that it is easy and see the difference that makes.
Look at it in a slightly different way. Imagine you are new to playing golf and you are in front of a short hole, one which even the most novice golfer stands a chance of at least getting near the green. If you were asked to get a hole-in-one do you think that you, the novice golfer, would get a hole-in-one with the first hit of the ball?
Okay, there is a small chance you might get one, there is a bigger chance you might get on the green, and there is a good chance that you might get near the green.
Given time and practice, if you are really lucky, you might get a hole in one, but what WILL happen is you will get on the green more often than when you first started. This will allow you to complete the hole easily. Guess what? Referrals are not hole-in-one, they are shots on the green.
Your role in getting a referral is not to get the deal signed, sealed and delivered, it is to get your fellow member closer to the flag, so they can sink the ball and score the sale. This analogy is designed to show you that when you first start looking, and most importantly listening, for referrals, you are not going to find many. Don’t give up, keep banging the rocks together and eventually with practice you will get better, then good, and then you will be a referral machine.
So how do you practice getting referrals?
One method is to look at your close family and friends. Each will probably drive a car, own a home, take holidays, have anniversaries or even buy carpets. Are you getting the picture? You have a captive group of referrals just waiting for you to secure them.
So how do you introduce your fellow members without coming on too strong?
You will see at the end of this chapter an example of a Fridge List. It was copied and pasted right from my networking group website, so it is really easy to do. I have made up and given to my friends, family and employees. It lists what the members do and their telephone numbers. It asks them to call the member if they need their services, or myself if they are not sure. We have also created a small leaflet from this list. Please feel to create your own, based on my idea.
This Fridge List is a great introduction to the group as it tells the person you give it to that you are a member of this group and that you trust the other members. Your trust in the other members will go a long way to giving your contacts the confidence to contact the members should the need arises. If you do start giving out Fridge Lists, you need to keep track of whom you have sent or given them to, as you need to keep it up to date on a regular basis. Keeping it up to date also shows the recipient that you believe in the people on it.
Another way to introduce them to the services of the Chapter is to invite them to a meeting. Make it clear that you don’t expect them to consider joining but to come and meet a large group of businesses in one room at one time, sort of an animated business directory. This has two benefits. Firstly you introduce a potential customer to every member of your group, and secondly, it gives you a potential person to call on as a substitute if you need to. I have taken every member of my family (except my mother) to networking groups, and none of them has stopped sending me Christmas cards as a result of their experience. They all uniformly enjoyed the experience, once they forgave me for the early start.
Another way of introducing members to your contacts is via gift tokens. If the beauty salon in your group has a gift voucher available, you are sorted for presents, and it allows the contact to try the member with no commitment. I am sure various other members of your Chapter offer vouchers of one form or another, so feel free to gift Group QQ® to your friends and family.
Sharing information about your networking group with your friends and family is a great way for you to get referrals, but more importantly, it ensures your contacts get the opportunity to use the services and goods of the people in the group, that you know, trust, and use yourself.