Recipe: Networking with Referral Partners
A referral partner is a person, group, or institution willing to refer potential clients to you. Building relationships with referral partners can be an almost effortless way to fill your marketing pipeline. If enough people begin referring business to you, you will eventually achieve the enviable position of being able to respond to client inquiries instead of having to initiate each contact yourself.
A prospective client who is referred to you is much more likely to buy what you have to sell than someone who hasn’t been referred. The endorsement of the person making the referral carries a lot of weight, increasing the know-like-and-trust factor immediately. Referred prospects are less likely to shop for the lowest price, ask fewer questions about your background and expertise, and typically come to a decision much more quickly. If soliciting business is inappropriate in your profession, referrals may be your primary source of clients.
For all these reasons, concentrating effort on building referrals can be a very worthwhile use of your time. While some of the best referrals come from past clients, there are many other possible referral partners for any business. Here are some examples:
Other prospects. People you have spoken or met with but aren’t ready to buy from you now will still refer you to others, if you remember to keep in touch with them.
Colleagues. Others in your field can be excellent referral sources. If you offer noncompetitive services, you may even decide to collaborate on projects, form a strategic alliance, or approach prospective clients together.
Competitors. Don’t rule out your competitors as referral partners. You may have an area of specialty that they don’t. They may also have times when they can’t handle all the business that comes to them or can’t take on a particular client because of a conflict of interest.
Others who serve your market. Anyone who is in regular contact with your market niche is a potential referral partner, regardless of the field he or she is in. A computer network installer might easily collect referrals from the owner of a moving company, a commercial property manager, or a security systems salesperson—all people who might know about an upcoming office relocation. A strategic alliance with a partner like this could also allow you to bundle your services or products together.
Salespeople. Regardless of what they sell, salespeople are used to the process of giving and receiving referrals. If you make friends with someone who sells for a living, he or she will naturally be on the lookout for possible leads for you. Start with the salespeople who sell to you.
Centers of influence. These are the people in your field or geographic area everyone seems to know. You see them at networking events, read their names online, and hear them mentioned everywhere. People like this get asked for referrals all the time, so you want your name to be in their contact management system.
Organizations. When a prestigious nonprofit or educational institution refers you, it is an implied endorsement, and makes you very attractive to prospective clients. Building relationships with organizations like this typically requires volunteering your professional services or teaching for them.
To begin identifying potential referral partners, develop a list of categories that represents the type of people or groups you think would be good candidates. For example, if you were an executive recruiter specializing in high-tech start-ups and rapidly growing companies, your referral partner categories might be:
Accountants who serve this market
Attorneys specializing in stock offerings, contracts, patents, trademarks, and other relevant areas
Business development consultants
Business and investment bankers
Entrepreneurship centers
Human resource management consultants
Marketing consultants
Venture capitalists
When you have identified some promising categories, look through your existing contacts to see whom you already know who fits. Call those people up, and say, “You know, I think we may be able to help each other get more clients. Can we get together and talk about it?” When you meet, ask them if there is anyone else they might suggest you talk to. After you have contacted the people you already know, and the people whom they know, you can add to your circle of referral partners further by employing the same strategies you are using to discover and attract clients.
The best referral partnerships are reciprocal. If the two of you are operating in the same market niche, the possibility of referrals flowing both ways is quite high. You might simply refer each other prospects when an occasion arises, or help each other more strategically by swapping contact lists or introducing each other to your contacts. But even if you can’t imagine how you would be able to refer business to the person you are contacting, don’t let that stop you. Savvy businesspeople are always looking for qualified professionals to add to their referral bank, because it helps them take good care of their own clients.
When you speak with a potential referral partner, find out as much about the partner’s business as you tell her about yours. Exchange marketing literature and several business cards, or familiarize yourself with your partner’s website. Ask who would be a good referral for your partner, and explain what type of client you are looking for. End your conversation by asking, “Is there anything else you need to feel confident in referring prospective clients to me?”
Be sure to thank your partners for each and every referral, whether it turns into business for you or not. A prompt “thank you” will generate more referrals. Keep in touch with your partners over time, just as you do with prospective and former clients. And remember to be on the lookout for referrals you can give to your partners. That’s the best way possible to stay in touch with them.