BNI Blog » Referrals

Min Workshop – Referrals 005

Geoff Kirkwood — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 03:37:09 +0000

This is a 2-3 minute activity that involves those at the meeting.
You will need to read it through beforehand and be prepared.  What you say out loud to the group is in larger type in bold. 
Purpose: To highlight different ways to ask for referrals.
—————————————————————————————–
Start by asking the members…

At last count I listed 6 different methods you could use to ask for a referral.

What I want to see is whether you know those 6 and any more. So turn to the person next to you and see if you can come up with at least 6 ways.

To make sure you are on the right track let me give you the first one – it is face-to-face.

So take 60 seconds now and see how many other ways you know of.

Let them have 60 seconds and then ask….

Did anyone get more than 6?

If someone did ask them to stand and repeat all of them.

If any are different to the following list then repeat the list and add in the new ones.

Then ask…

How many of you are using even half of these methods?

If you aren’t then now is the time to start and be able to bring more referrals to your team.

The Referral Master®

Tweet this Post

6 Ways Your Referral Source Can Turn a Referral Into a Customer

Ivan Misner — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:57:42 +0000

Let’s say that upon getting a business referral, you simply take down the name and contact information of the potential customer from the referral source.

Sometime later, you call the prospect and introduce yourself: “Hello, Ms. Prospect, my name is John Businessman. Larry Source recommended I call you. I’m an accountant…”

Handling referrals this way, as you might expect, gets minimal results. Your chance of converting the referral into a customer will be greater if your referral source:

1. Makes the initial contact with the prospect (his acquaintance) to assess her need and, if appropriate, alerts her that you will be getting in touch;

2. Sends the prospect background information about you and your business;

3. Lets the prospect know the nature of his relationship with you;

4. Gives the prospect a brief description and endorsement of your products or services;

5. Arranges to introduce the prospect to you;

6. Follows up with the prospect after you contact her.

Unfortunately, if you don’t ask your prospective referral source to do some of these things, he probably won’t – not because he isn’t willing, but because he doesn’t know how these actions could make a big difference; doesn’t have enough information about you or your business, or simply doesn’t know how.

Make it your goal to communicate to your sources the actions you wish them to take and then provide them with all the materials necessary to accomplish those actions.

If you do this, I guarantee you’ll get better-quality referrals that will more quickly turn into actual business

Tweet this Post

Mini Workshop – Referrals 004

Geoff Kirkwood — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 08:02:57 +0000

This is a 2-3 minute activity that involves those at the meeting.
You will need to read it through beforehand and be prepared.  What you say out loud to the group is in larger type in bold. 
Purpose: To highlight other places to find referrals.
—————————————————————————-
Start by reminding the members…

Last week we talked about asking our best customers for referrals.

How many of you tried it during the week? Let me see a show of hands?

Can anyone else suggest a vast network of people that most of us have and yet few tap into?

Seek responses and repeat any you get.

The network I am thinking of is “family”.

How many of you have family living in the same country as you?

Most of us are blessed with family, most of who work for someone or for themselves.

Ask yourself the following questions….

1.   Have any of them bought a house in the last 12 months?
2.   Did they use your chapter mortgage broker/provider?
3.   How many of them sent flowers, booked travel, bought cars, arranged insurance, purchased a mobile phone or computer?
4.   Did you introduce them to the chapter member who provides these services?

Many of us overlook our family as a source of referrals.

So let me ask a question?

How many of you have heard a family member at a recent family get-together complain about poor quality service or product?

Let me see a show of hands?

Never forget these words…

When someone else complains, you are standing in the middle of a referral!

The Referral Master®

Tweet this Post

Min Workshop – Referrals 003

Geoff Kirkwood — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:09:26 +0000

This is a 2-3 minute activity that involves those at the meeting.
You will need to read it through beforehand and be prepared.  What you say out loud to the group is in larger type in bold. 
Purpose: To highlight other places to find referrals.
—————————————————————————————————-
Start by asking the members…

Where are the best places to find referrals?

Seek responses and repeat the best 2 or 3. Now ask the chapter…

How many of you ask your best clients for referrals?

Seek responses and ask 2 or 3 to tell their story – in brief.

Then say….

The best way to do this is as follows…

1.   Tell your existing customers you are always looking for referrals, for yourself and your referral network.

2.   Take your Card Wallet into meetings with some of your best clients. Let them see it and tell them what it is.

3.   As part of your presentation let them know that you belong to BNI – this will only add credibility to your business.

4.   When you ask for referrals, and explain for whom and why, you value add in the eyes of your client – you demonstrate that you are well connected.

One of the challenges with small business is that many of us are single operators. Membership of BNI makes us part of something much bigger and makes us smart, well-connected business people in the eyes of our clients.

Ask the group…

Write down the names of your 10 top clients.

Prompt them to take out a piece of paper and actually write down these names.

Now let me see a show of hands of members who have approached all of these people in the last 12 months and told them about BNI – who have actually asked these people for a referral?

Seek responses. Then finish by saying….

If you haven’t, then what are you waiting for?

The Referral Master®

Tweet this Post

Mini Workshop – Referrals 002

Geoff Kirkwood — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 05:05:18 +0000

This is a 2-3 minute activity that involves those at the meeting.
You will need to read it through beforehand and be prepared.  What you say out loud to the group is in larger type in bold. 
Purpose: To highlight the need for focus to get referrals .
—————————————————————————————————

Begin by asking the members the following question…

Who do you want to meet?

Tell me who it is that you want to meet in business?

Give me one name?

Some of them will give you an answer but it is likely most won’t.

So ask them to do the following….

Please write down the names of three people you want to meet?

Go on, pick up a pen and write down the names of three people who you would like to be your next three customers?

Here you need to ask as many people as you have time for to say out loud the names on their list.

Now, say out loud their names, one member at a time?

Stop after each member and ask….

Does anyone here know these people?

Does anyone here know someone who knows these people?

At the end of this ask the following two questions.

1. Will all of you who do have names, start asking for them on a rotational basis each week or every second week.
2. Those of you who do not have any names need to think about how your team will be able to find referrals if you have not told them who to look for.

If you are struggling with this process maybe we need the Reciprocity Ring seminar!

The Referral Master®

Tweet this Post

Mini Workshop – Referrals 001

Geoff Kirkwood — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:14:17 +0000

This is a 2-3 minute activity that involves those at the meeting.
You will need to read it through beforehand and be prepared.  What you say out loud to the group is in larger type in bold. 
Purpose: To highlight how important Dance Cards are for referrals .
——————————————————————————————————————-
Ask the chapter the following question and repeat some of the responses.

In the last three months, how many members here have not received either one referral or enough to justify their membership?

Those members please keep their hands up?

Do the rest of you want to lose these members?

Now ask those members to put down their hands and say the following to everyone.

The only way to make sure that everyone benefits from BNI is to follow the system.

Those of you who are satisfied with your referrals and/or those of you who may be having difficulty getting referrals for our members who put their hands up need to do the following…

1.   Book dance cards with those members today
2.   Focus especially on them for the next few weeks
3.   Ask them those five most important words……… HOW CAN I HELP YOU?
4.   Make them a priority

You will be amazed what some focus will do for all of you, even those of you who are receiving plenty of referrals.

The Referral Master®

Tweet this Post

Forget the swan. Sell the duck!

Colin Kennedy — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 23:30:14 +0000

Are swans wasting your opportunities?

My fellow BNI director Brian Noble (Achievement Discoveries) came up with a great quote the other day. He said: “Don’t waste time developing the swan when you should be selling the duck”.

Brian was referring to the fact that many of us spend too much time fine-tuning and building-up a product or service offering, when we should be out selling the basics.

I think it’s an expression that can also be applied to how we sell to customers and our networks.

Too often we will stand up and try to push the swan, when we should just stand up and sell the duck.

Time is short; we’re competing with heaps of other messages and the internal dialogues of our ‘listeners’.

Keep your presentation – especially your referral request – precise, simple and specific.

Effective selling – whether face-to-face, your elevator speech or 60 second presentation – is not a public speaking competition. Your job is to be heard, understood and acted upon.

Sell the duck! It’s a foot in the door. Once you have a relationship, then you can go after the swan.

My fellow BNI director Brian Noble (Achievement Discoveries) came up with a great quote the other day. He said: “Don’t waste time developing the swan when you should be selling the duck”.

Brian was referring to the fact that many of us spend too much time fine-tuning and building-up a product or service offering, when we should be out selling the basics.

I think it’s an expression that can also be applied to how we sell to customers and our networks.

Too often we will stand up and try to push the swan, when we should just stand up and sell the duck.

Time is short; we’re competing with heaps of other messages and the internal dialogues of our ‘listeners’.

Keep your presentation – especially your referral request – precise, simple and specific.

Effective selling – whether face-to-face, your elevator speech or 60 second presentation – is not a public speaking competition. Your job is to be heard, understood and acted upon.

Sell the duck! It’s a foot in the door. Once you have a relationship, then you can go after the swan.

Tweet this Post

Mini Workshop – Referrals 005

Geoff Kirkwood — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:39:13 +0000

This is a 2-3 minute activity that involves those at the meeting.
You will need to read it through beforehand and be prepared.  What you say out loud to the group is in larger type in bold.

Purpose: To highlight different ways to ask for referrals.

Requirements: – Nil.
______________________________________________________

Start by asking the members…

At last count I listed 6 different methods you could use to ask for a referral.

What I want to see is whether you know those 6 and any more. So turn to the person next to you and see if you can come up with at least 6 ways.

To make sure you are on the right track let me give you the first one – it is face-to-face, one on one.

So take 60 seconds now and see how many other ways you know of.

Let them have 60 seconds and then ask….

Did anyone get more than 6?

If someone did ask them to stand and repeat all of them.

If any are different to the following list then repeat the following list and add in the new ones.

Face to face, one on one
Announced in a networking meeting
In a letter
By phone
By email
In a newsletter

Then ask…

How many of you are using even half of these methods?

If you aren’t then now is the time to start and be able to bring more referrals to your team.

The Referral Master®

Tweet this Post

Mini Workshop – Referrals 004

Geoff Kirkwood — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:41:45 +0000

This is a 2-3 minute activity that involves those at the meeting.

You will need to read it through beforehand and be prepared.  What you say out loud to the group is in larger type in bold.

Purpose: To highlight other places to find referrals.

Requirements: – Nil.

—————————————————–

Start by reminding the members…

Last week we talked about asking our best customers for referrals.

How many of you tried it during the week? Let me see a show of hands?

Can anyone else suggest a vast network of people that most of us have and yet few tap into?

Seek responses and repeat any you get.

The network I am thinking of is “family”. How many of you have family living in the same country as you?

Most of us are blessed with family, most of who work for someone or for themselves.

Ask yourself the following questions….

1.   Have any of them bought a house in the last 12 months?
2.   Did they use your chapter mortgage broker/provider?
3.   How many of them sent flowers, booked travel, bought cars, arranged insurance, purchased a mobile phone or computer?
4.   Did you introduce them to the chapter member who provides these services?

Many of us overlook our family as a source of referrals.

So let me ask another question?

How many of you have heard a family member at a recent family get-together complain about poor quality service or product?

Let me see a show of hands?

Never forget these words…

When someone else complains, you are standing in the middle of a referral!

The Referral Master®

Tweet this Post

Mini Workshop – Referrals 003

Geoff Kirkwood — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 01:31:41 +0000

This is a 2-3 minute activity that involves those at the meeting.

You will need to read it through beforehand and be prepared.  What you say out loud to the group is in larger type in bold.

Purpose: To highlight other places to find referrals.

Requirements: – NIL.

——————————————————————————————

Start by asking the members…

Where are the best places to find referrals?

Seek responses and repeat the best 2 or 3. Now ask the chapter…

How many of you ask your best clients for referrals?

Seek responses and ask 2 or 3 to tell their story – in brief. Then say….

The best way to do this is as follows…

1. Tell your existing customers you are always looking for referrals, for yourself and your referral network.

2. Take your Card Wallet into meetings with some of your best clients. Let them see it and tell them what it is.

3. As part of your presentation let them know that you belong to BNI – this will only add credibility to your business.

4. When you ask for referrals, and explain for whom and why, you value add in the eyes of your client – you demonstrate that you are well connected.

Ask the group…

Write down the names of your 10 top clients.

Prompt them to take out a piece of paper and actually write down these names.

Now let me see a show of hands of members who have approached all of these people in the last 12 months and told them about BNI – who have actually asked these people for a referral?

Seek responses. Then finish by saying….

If you haven’t, then what are you waiting for?

The Referral Master®

Tweet this Post