Business Development Blog

I've got a question in Linkedin Answers right now and the wide variety of repsonses is interesting.

They range from - You work hard, you do a good job, and you pray that people actually refer you - to - Have a script where you ask for referrals at the beginning or the end of your transaction.

I personally believe that the best way to get more referrals is to find people who are in the perfect position to refer you and train them to do that. And then reciprocate!

A friend of mine, Jordan Adler. works with Sendout Cards and is the top guy in the company. He's developed a website, The Cool Buzz, where he actively trains the people in his network how to reproduce what he does.

Now I know what you are thinking - I'm not selling what he's selling; my business doesn't work that way.

Maybe.

Couldn't you find industry partners who are perfectly positioned to refer you and build a resource center for them where they can see how you qualify people? Or how you deal with objections? Couldn't you put your material online where they could get to it no matter where they were so they could easily position you with their clients? Couldn't they do the same for you?

This idea so intrigues me that I am working on a resource center just like this for people who refer me. My website is undergoing a redesign with this in mind. I'll keep you up to date as this happens.

Meanwhile - this is being done all over the internet. It's called affiliate marketing. While this may be a bit different, the parallels are intriguing!

Consider putting a program together. Talk to the people who already refer you and see what they think. Don't take my word for it. Try it!