Asking for referrals is easy. But the way you ask can make a big difference in the results you get.
Mary Kay Ash taught her distributors the right way. She said,
“When asking for a referral, don’t ask if they know someone who wants what we’re offering. Instead, ask for someone who has a problem we can solve.”
Why is this better? Because it gets the listener to focus on their friends’ problem or desire, not your products or services.
When you ask a client this type of question, in their mind’s eye they can see their cousin who is in a bad marriage or their friend whose daughter just had a baby and might need to prepare a Will. They might know an entrepreneur who needs to incorporate or a business owner who has mentioned having trouble with his employees.
If they say they know someone, ask them to give their friend your card.
Still, this may not be right for your practice area, or it may feel too aggressive.
In that case, another way to ask is to do a “referral bypass,” and yes, that’s something I just made up.
Instead of asking for a referral to a prospective client, ask for a referral to a professional or business owner who sells to or advises people in your target market.
The kinds of people who may know people who need your services, now or in the future.
When they say they have a friend who sells insurance to medical professionals (if that’s your target market), ask for a few details and if the friend sound like someone you might like to know, ask if they would introduce you.
Or, tell them you’ll look them up and ask if it would be okay to mention their name.
Contact the referral, introduce yourself, tell them you have a mutual friend or client or colleague, and ask them to tell you more about what they do. If all goes well, at some point they’ll ask you to tell them more about what you do.
What do you say when they ask that question? How do you answer when someone asks, “What do you do?”
There’s a right way to answer that question and you can read all about it in my book, How to Sell Your Legal Services in 15 Seconds or Less.
