Why The Unsolicited Referral Works

I got a new phone plan about a month ago and while I was at it I got a muchly needed new phone. Still trying to learn all the features I decided to make a couple of short videos. As a joke, I made what I thought was a completely amateurish looking "commercial" for a friend's business, with me giving a testimonial. I sent it to his wife via text thinking they would say something like, "Please delete that!" or "Thanks but no thanks." Instead she laughed and posted it on Facebook, saying they appreciated it. 

Here's the video I made. 

That's when things got weird. Later that evening, her husband posted a video talking up my business. They posted it on Facebook. By sheer goofiness on my part, we were now exchanging testimonials and endorsing each other to our followers. 

The point of this story is to show how giving an unsolicited referral can come back to you in spades. For all of us who are spending the bulk of our time prospecting for clients a referral is a welcome gift. Unfortunately, we often have to ask for them, which sucks. 

I explain in my book that when you ask someone for a referral things get weird and awkward. People are generally apprehensive when asked to come up with names for you to call. You can't really blame them because they already know what will happen. You'll call their friend, who in turn will call them and ask, "Why did you tell that salesperson to call me?" It's never pretty.

You can always try to make it less stressful by asking your prospect to call the referral but they really don't want to do that either. Or you can finesse the situation by asking for an "introduction". Sometimes that works, others it doesn't. 

Have you ever had someone give you a thoughtful gift out of the blue? How did you respond? Most people respond in kind, by returning the favor. If you didn't respond in kind, you probably didn't receive anymore surprise gifts. 

By just giving someone an unsolicited referral you can get around all of that problematic stress and heartbreak. And you don't have to produce a video.  

Try this exercise a few times over the next week or so. Go through your client files and find the ones you know have a business with contacts you would like to meet. If you know that these people are also looking for new clients that makes it even better. 

Let's use an example. I have a client (we'll call her Mary to protect her identity) who owns a marketing firm and sells promotional products to local businesses. Knowing this because I met her at a networking event, I can reasonably surmise that most of her clients are good prospects for me, because I also work with local small business owners. In the course of a phone conversation with one of my clients, who happens to own a restaurant, I mention that Mary is could help with marketing their new line of appetizers. 

The next step to this is very important, but simple. Give Mary a call and let her know that you just referred her to the restaurant owner. Don't sound like you are expecting reciprocity, but instead say that you think she'll do a good job. 

"Hey Mary, I was talking to Bob and gave him your name. He needs help promoting his potato skins and I suggested you." Mary will say thank you for thinking of her and will, by her good business acumen, think of ways to reciprocate. If she doesn't then you aren't obligated to send anyone else to her.

Give it a try and see if it works. In my experience it has helped tremendously and it builds goodwill among your networking community as well.

Chris Castanes is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. He's also the author of "You're Going To Be Great At This!", a humorous look at sales. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states.