A financial advisor that I coach said to me that obtaining referrals is “luck of the draw.” I said how do you make the “luck of the draw” happen on purpose? He hadn’t really thought of it that way before. So we came up with a process to help him obtain referrals from professionals and from Ideal Clients on purpose. He created a ‘script’ to say to professionals and one for his clients where he asks for referrals, on purpose. He has a process where he makes it easy for them to provide him with as many people they know who they think fit his profile. He added asking for referrals as an agenda item when he has certain types of meetings with other professionals, and when he has client reviews. He is more on purpose with a desired goal every time he asks. And he is now receiving a lot more referrals and on a more consistent basis. You want to make it as easy as possible for people to provide you with referrals. Send or give them a sheet to complete with the information you need along with a self addressed stamped envelope to mail back to you. If they prefer to fax something, give them tools to do this. If they like to type and would prefer to provide them to you via the internet, provide them with an electronic form that is easy for them to complete and email to you.
Some people are members of various organizations. Most organizations have a membership directory. Would they be willing to share with you who they know on the directory so that you could contact them? Could you contact all of them in the directory? Some things to think about…
