Page 225 - Duct Tape Marketing

Duct Tape Marketing

over and over again, your value fades with familiarity. Ask for your
referrals very early in the relationship.

Educate Your Sources
Much of the work you did at the beginning of this book, describ-

ing your ideal prospect and carving out your core message, will be the
foundation for the referral marketing education component of your
system. One of the keys to systematically generating high-quality refer-
rals is to create a simple tool that helps educate your sources. This tool
does not need to be anything complicated or glamorous. One sheet
of paper with the following bits of information is more than enough.

How to spot your ideal client. Your referral sources need to
know precisely the type of referral you are looking for. (Think of your
best customers.)

Your core message. Even your best clients may not understand
the full range of products or services you are capable of providing.
Business owners sometimes complain that they get too many leads
that don’t match their business when they ask for referrals. A tool to
properly educate your referral sources can all but do away with this
constraint.

Your referral marketing process. In other words, let your refer-
ral sources know how you intend to contact the referral, what you
intend to say, and how you intend to follow up. Some referral sources
are reluctant to recommend friends and family because they aren’t
sure what you will do with the referral. The last thing anyone wants
is to be known as the person who unleashed the “never say die” sales-
person on Uncle Bob.

Remember, when people give you referrals, particularly the types
described in this publication, they are, in effect, lending you some
portion of the trust they have developed with their contact. They may
be risking some aspect of their relationship with that referral, so your
referral marketing system must make them feel comfortable. The best

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