Okay, okay, you are all tired of me ranting and raving about the sins of Referral-Begging and Referral-Bribing, which in my opinion, just annoys and irritates your friends. Oh, and a nice side-benefit; it advertises how desperate you are for business.
Of course, I hear all the time; "There's no harm in asking!" or "You gotta ask for what you want if you expect to get it!"
I disagree. I think there's all kinds of harm in asking, and no, I don't believe you always gotta ask for what you want. But I've written thousands of words on this topic already...
So, allow me to be a little more helpful today. What should you do instead of Referral-Begging?
Well, today, I had a listing appointment with someone referred to me by a current client. During our conversation (notice I didn't say "presentation"), I took the opportunity to toss out two comments about how I Work By Referral... without implying that they were in any way obligated to participate...
Watch how I slipped it in...
#1: Me: "You guys are so cool. This is what I love about working by referral - I get to work with the nicest people!"
#2 Me: "Did Jane (the client who referred me) tell you the story about the toaster (click here to read about it)? So, if you ever refer anyone to me, don't worry, I won't send you a toaster!"
It's really not hard to let people know in a non-threatening way that you enjoy a referral-based business. See how I worded that? That you "enjoy a referral-based business." That sounds a whole lot more professional than "I {HEART} Referrals!" or "Oh, By the Way... Do you know anyone...?" or "The Greatest Compliment I Receive is...." doesn't it? Kind of like it just happens naturally, without effort... 'Cause You're So Darn COOL!"
Which you are, aren't you?
