IN TERMS of sustaining success over time, building a referral network is one of the most important things a business can ever do. In the first of a three-part exploration of how to get referrals, we ask what’s at the heart of a referral network?
Business referral: 1. Referral networks are built on trust
Why do clients buy advice from professional services? More often than not, it is because an expert opinion is being sought to mitigate a degree of risk. This risk could concern an important decision that needs to be make, or perhaps to ensure a business strategy is implemented in the right way.
“Clients mitigate risk by approaching people they trust,” says Romey Ghadially, a consultant with business development specialists the Pace Partnership. “And if they don’t know who the best advisers are, they canvass opinion from their contacts.”
Trust, says Ghadially, is also essential for those doing the referring, because their judgement is under the spotlight in making a recommendation.
While trust is naturally built by doing a professional job for a client, professional services firms ought not leave it to chance to get referrals, warns Ghadially. “They can build and manage very effective referral networks through three key activities.
Business referral: 2. Formulate a referral blueprint
The first thing successful firms do is to sit back and take stock, says Ghadially. “Using their marketers, business development professionals and fee-earners, they look at their current referral patterns, but not just in terms of the quantity and quality of leads over a given time period -- they also look at the dynamics of each individual referrer.”
Questions they may ask include:
1. What personality traits are dominant?
2. What motivates them?
3. What reward/recognition do they seek in referring?
“With this information, they build a profile of their most prolific and beneficial referrers,” says Ghadially.
He adds: “They then consider the future. They set targets for the volume and quality of leads they want to generate from their network and the type of projects this will result in.”
Where there is a gap between what they receive now and the future, Ghadially reveals that they plot the following:
1.Who in their current contact base will refer such work?
2.Are the profiles of their most effective referrers recognizable in other contacts that operate in their market?
3.Do any of their contacts know people who fit these profiles?
4.Are there any associations or groups in their clients’ markets where they might meet similar individuals?
“This creates a network blueprint,” explains Ghadially. “It outlines the key people who will be central to achieving the referral targets and the potential new referrers that need to be cultivated.”
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30/03/2010
