What do your referrals say about you?

Isn’t it frustrating when you receive a ‘lead’ or ‘tip’ as a referral at your BNI meeting? One of the best ways to address this problem is to remember that good referrals ‘start at home’.

By home of course, we mean ‘with yourself’. Givers Gain also applies to qualifying your referrals – if you give poor quality, you will get back poor quality.

But, how do we define a good referral?

In BNI, a referral means “a member of your chapter has provided you with the opportunity to present your business to someone you know is in the market to buy your product or service, where that presentation is anticipated”.

BNI only deals with qualified referrals, and leaves the tips and leads to other groups.

Always remember, that giving referrals is not a competition, it is about quality – not quantity.

Stop now and think about what your referrals are saying about you and your business – one good, qualified referral is worth more than a hundred leads.

P.S. Unless of course you’ve specifically requested leads and welcome them. A lead should not however, be classed as a referral. If the lead turns in to business then perhaps there is an argument for it to become a referral, but that’s debatable…