Photo by Bryan Goff on Unsplash

It’s Not About You - Give

How do I say this gently? Okay, I won’t bother being gentle. I’ll just shout it out: IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU. If you want referrals, you can’t talk about how great you or your company are. You can’t talk about how great your clients are.

You have to give. To get a referral you have to give something of value.

What you give and what is of value depends on what your referral sources want. People are people. Most people want something. You just need to figure out what they want.

Some want a referral from you - easy to do. Some want a coffee - also easy. Some want to be treated to lunch - I do this all the time. Some want a shout-out on social media - again easy to do. Some just want to be acknowledged for who they are - simple. Some want cash - which we do sometimes. Some want a Ferrari - this is not going to happen unless I win the lottery.

Be Different - Be Unique

This is obvious but I’ll mention it anyway. If you don’t stand out from the crowd no one will notice you. I know a guy who wears an orange shirt - all the time. I bet you know who he is. If you guessed Craig Elias then you are right. I dare you to click on the link but be sure to wear sunglasses first. This is my favourite picture of Craig - he’s wearing a purple shirt but the background is orange.

Speaking of purple, have you read, Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin? Me neither but I’m going to - soon - I promise. In fact, I’m thinking of starting a group that meets in the evening, near Longview, AB, and we read the book and we talk about the book and we apply the concepts. Are you with me? Let me know if you are interested. Email me: jeff@anduro.com Or call me: 403-703-2247.

Remind People - Ask

Sadly, not everything is about giving. You can give and give but if you never ask you won’t get anything. Some people are just takers. These wallowing worms wiggle around waiting for wayfarers like me to wrestle with and waste my time. Ignore them.

On the other hand, everyone I know is busy. Even people, like my Dad, who is retired are busy. I know some people who have made a lot of money - guess what - they’re busy. The only people I know who aren’t busy are people with no money and, interestingly, they often don’t have anything to give either.

As a result, in order to get a referral you are going to need to remind people and ask. How you ask can vary. It could be over coffee or during a phone call. It could be on your website, although that is often overused. It could be at an event that you are hosting - this makes a ton of sense.

To get an endless stream of referrals you are going to have to keep in touch. Here are some of the things that I do:

• Interact with people on social media. For me, this is mostly on LinkedIn. You need to find the platform that works for you

• Write a blog post at least once every 2 weeks

• Send out a newsletter a couple of times a month

• Call or email people who have referred companies to us

• Attend networking functions

My Offer to You

Here’s the deal - If you complete the referral form below AND you come to Longview, I’ll treat you to lunch at Little New York Bistro. I’m specifically looking for referrals for our Revenue Catalyst program.

I’d love to hear from you.

Jeff Nelson

403-703-2247

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