At this morning’s networking meeting, we all went on a little rant about respecting referrals that were being passed between ourselves and others. It seems anymore that although most people love getting referrals, they are not very good at acknowledging them. We all get busy, and want to take care of that referral right away, which is great, however I find myself referring less and less to those that don’t communicate with me when I send them a referral.

So to keep you respecting referrals, and not losing out on any, here are some tips I have:

1. Immediately following the receipt of a referral, (whether they use you or not) send a hand-written thank you to the sender. Maybe include a little $5 coffee gift card
2. Immediately after receiving the referred’s info, contact them and let them know how you received their name.
3. Communicate with your referral partner
   1. Having trouble getting a hold of the client?
   2. Was able to help them
   3. Was not able to help them
   4. They sent you a referral
4. Teach your referral partners what makes a good referral, ‘Trim Out The Fat’
5. If you have been referred to someone, communicate and let them know if it was a success, hand write a thank you if it was a great fit
6. Place referred business at the TOP of your priority list. This is the cheapest, easiest business to get, so treat it with GOLD to keep it coming.
7. Follow the basic rule: Treat Referrals How You Would Like To Be Treated
8. Refer back. This is the best way to repay the referring partner and keep more coming
9. Give before you receive.
10. Share about how awesome your referral partners are. Make it public, post on FB, write them a review on LinkedIn, send a Snap about them etc…

Referral Business is THE BEST way to grow to your business, take care of it and keep it coming!

Happy Networking

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