you’re still targeting, but with people you know.
by martin bissett
business development on a budget
many firms have a “referral system” in place: take what comes in the door, make a phone call every now and then to a lawyer, bank manager or other introducer to try and shake the tree enough to get something to work on.
more on business development: preventing buyer’s remorse | 2 rules for getting your pricing right | how to prepare for the first meeting with a new prospect | consider hiring a sales director | your perception vs. your client’s reality | appraise your prospects | develop the habit of consistency
this, in fact, is not a system at all. a system is what i will describe in the rest of this post.
in building an effective referral system, you start with your existing clients. if you are doing great work with the clients you have, they should be the people who could perhaps point you to new opportunities.
the sweet spot
to start the process, identify the clients who fit in the sweet spot at the intersection of the following three factors:
- they have a strong trust in your practice.
- they see you as having high credibility.
- they are in the region of the sort of work you want to get.
any client who fits where trust, credibility and a good fit overlap is a good place to start. make a list of your clients who fit these criteria, as they are likely to be your most fertile source of introductions.
a word of caution. if you are carrying out straightforward compliance work for a client, and they perceive you as being employed to provide certain services for a fee, it follows that they will refer you to similar types of engagements and clients.
fee follows value. therefore, you want to ask for referrals from clients for whom you are providing huge value, because they are likely to refer you to businesses who have the same appreciation of that value.
scoring
once you have identified these desired referrers, grade them with a score of one to 10 (where 10 is high) on the following criteria:
score 1-10
1. they trust us.
referral source 1:
referral source 2:
referral source 3:
2. they see value from our service.
referral source 1:
referral source 2:
referral source 3:
3. they see us as credible in various areas.
referral source 1:
referral source 2:
referral source 3:
4. they value our responsiveness to their concerns.
referral source 1:
referral source 2:
referral source 3:
5. they see us as valued reciprocal referrers.
referral source 1:
referral source 2:
referral source 3:
6. they see us as highly professional.
referral source 1:
referral source 2:
referral source 3:
7. they see us as innovative, beyond compliance providers.
referral source 1:
referral source 2:
referral source 3:
8. our reputation is high throughout their organization.
referral source 1:
referral source 2:
referral source 3:
add up the scores, and target the top three scorers to go after first to obtain referrals.
the approach
the most common approach is to simply ask a person if they know anyone you should talk to. this approach is generally unsuccessful, because it puts the person on the spot and makes them uncomfortable. it often brings the response that they will keep you in mind when they think of someone, which of course rarely happens.
but don’t simply let them off the hook with this response. at this point, you need to move the process forward by putting them at ease and being more specific about the type of referral you want. a good way to handle this is to say something like, “yes, that’s usually what everyone says when i ask them, but i know it’s kind of hard for you to come up with someone in a vacuum. let me give you a more complete idea of the sorts of businesses we work best with, and hopefully that will perhaps make a name or two pop into your mind.”
you can remove their discomfort by painting a picture for them of exactly the types of prospects you would like to be introduced to, and they are more likely to be able and willing to help.
prepare the way
this whole process will go more smoothly if you prepare the client in advance by setting the expectation that you will ask for referrals at some point. simply tell them you don’t want to put them on the spot by asking now, but that you will probably come back and ask in a month or so. now they know what kind of people you want, and they have some time to think about it.
follow up
to complete the process, you must actually ask them in a month, or whatever length of time you said you would. if they have received excellent value from working with you, at this point they will be happy to help you by providing appropriate referrals.
face the fear
even with this process in place, clients often tell me they still feel awkward and nervous asking for referrals. there are two steps you can take to alleviate this fear.
first, you can tell the client you are doing this for the first time and feel a little nervous about it. they will want to reduce your nervousness, and you have already given them value anyway so they will be more open to giving you referrals. then it will be so much easier next time!
the second way is to change your mindset. instead of seeing this as asking for business, understand that you are simply looking for opportunities to serve and help other businesses as you have this client.
the more you practice the art of asking for referrals, the more business you will bring to your firm.
business development tasks
1. identify existing clients who are in the sweet spot of
- high level trust in you,
- belief you can handle a wide range of work and
- size and type of business likely to know the people you want to be referred to.
2. make sure your fee structure is justified in your client’s mind, as that will prompt appropriate referrals.
3. see which clients in the sweet spot score highest on the extended criteria, and approach them first for referrals.
4. know what you will say to put clients at ease and paint a picture for them of the type of referrals you want.
5. set expectations in advance, so that your client knows you will be asking for referrals after your have proved your value to them.
6. reframe asking for referrals as simply a way for you to help three organizations, including your own.
7. schedule specific, uninterruptible time in your diary to create an effective, sustainable referral program.