Page 226 - Duct Tape Marketing

Ramp Up a Systematic Referral Machine

way to do this is to simply show them your system. This simple step
may also help resell them on continuing to work with you.

A call to action. Your referral marketing education tool should
end by instructing your source on the best way to refer you. Give them
the actual words you would like them to use, the way to turn over a
lead, or a Web site address that they should send referral prospects to.

The Perfect Introduction in Reverse
Now that you have developed your education and introduction

piece for your referral marketing system, I want to introduce you to
one heck of a powerful twist on using this tool. Create a blank form
based on your education process, send it out to a list of potential net-
work resources (people who serve the same target market), and ask
them to complete it for themselves and send it back to you so you will
be better prepared to refer them.

One client got a 65 percent response rate to this very tactic and
found referrals coming at him from places he had tried long and hard
to penetrate.

Make It Easy for Them
Your referral sources want to give you referrals, but you’ve got to

make it as easy as possible. Everyone is stretched in a hundred differ-
ent ways. Don’t make your referral sources jump through hoops to
give you referrals. Make it as easy as possible for them, and you will
receive many more referrals.

I’ve already said that you need to educate them on whom to refer,
but you may also need to show them how to refer. This may mean
giving them a script, writing them a recommended referral letter, or
even plopping a list of your hottest prospects down in front of them.
Create a whole series of referral tools, and put them in the hands of
those you know can best refer you to others.

Here are some of my favorite examples:

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