WIIFM Referrals
What’s In It For Me, WIIFM, the basic biological fundamental radio station that most of us humans are tuned into throughtout the day. We hear Bryan Tracy, Zig, and Tony Robbins talk about how that is what our customers and prospects are thinking throughout our sales presentations and that we must tailor our talks to accomodate their needs. This seems to be true, at least in my experience, and today I was reminded of this principle in a big way.
I was having a conversation with a client about referrals. He had been having a terrible slump with getting referrals for the past 5 or 6 weeks. He had been asking most of the right questions, at pretty much the right times, and we were trying to dissect if maybe there was one more time he could “plant a seed” early in the relationship that he would be asking for referrals after the transaction was completed and they were satisfied.
Well as we kept talking about it, it seemed strange that his results would be so dramatically worse from just one or two times throughout the process that he wasn’t planting a seed. We also talked about his persistence in asking for referrals. Was he helping to guide the customer to different ideas of who would be a good referral? Yes, he was (or at least he was trying) but he seemed to have a LOT of stories about how the customer would suddenly have something come up just as it was time to ask for referrals. They were very grateful that he had sold them a great product, and they were happy with their purchase BUT when it came time for referrals they vanished.
Hmmmmm…I thought, very interesting, for the past 5 weeks nearly everyone had to “rush” off after the sale? Now this is a person who had been AVERAGING 4-5 referrals per client 6 weeks ago, and was suddenly averaging a whopping ONE per customer. So, I asked him “What is the benefit of your customers giving YOU referrals?” And there was a silence so thick between us that you could cut it with a knife. His response was “I’ve never thought about how it could benefit THEM to give me referrals.”
That is when we created a list of the benefits that his clients gained by giving him referrals. What are the BENEFITS for your clients to give you refferals? Please add it to this post as a comment.
Remember, anything that you are asking someone to do must be framed in a way, whether outloud or at the very least in your head and heart, that benefits the other person.
Ready…Set…GO!
Be Free!
Tom Weber
VP of Sales
I once heard a speaker discuss asking for referrals and he used a very nice script to set up the request. It went something like this:
Spkr: Did you enjoy the program?
Client: Oh yeah. It was great.
Spkr: How did you think it was valuable for your people and your business?
Client: (gives reasons)
Spkr: That’s one of my favorite parts about this business. It is so valuable for just about anyone in any business.
Client: That is true.
Spkr: Well listen Bill, I know a guy like you probably knows at least a few other business owner like yourself who are looking for ways to increase their productivity and profitability. Is that true?
Client: Yeah sure.
Spkr: Well you may be in a position to really help them out. Who do you know who owns or operates a business that you think would enjoy having me out to do a program like we just did here?
The key phrase here is “You may be in a position to help them…” It’s not about helping YOU. It’s about helping their friends. You can vary the setup as you like to fit the occassion, but I think what makes this work is by setting it up as a benefit for the client and his friend.
Comment by Dave Denis — June 11, 2009 @ 8:06 am
1. When someone refer us to their professional contacts – such as other offices in their company – that makes their entire organization stronger and more capable which greatly benefits the person giving the referral.
2. When someone refer us to someone they know personally – their friend will likely call them up and THANK them for turning them on to such a great training.
3. When someone refers us to one of their clients, that is a way for them to add value to their client’s business by doing literally nothing but giving us a name. One of our past customers once paid us several hundred thousand dollars to expose this training to their clients. Your clients can offer the same value to their customers for free!
Comment by eric — June 11, 2009 @ 8:20 am
I have found that when most people meet an execptional professional they WANT to help. They admire the job that was done and respect the way they were treated. People like to do business with people who they like and trust. By sharing the name of a quality professional they are ASSOCIATED with goodness which reflects back on them, remember the goal is to make them look good, right? Well that extends to the referral process. By giving referrals they feel like they are making a contribution and ultimately know that this will reflect back in a positive way on them. It’s just good business all around.
Comment by Loren — June 11, 2009 @ 8:46 am
Building on Eric’s comment:
4. They look cool and smart for having “discovered” a great, fun, valuable program.
Comment by Leah Simpson — June 11, 2009 @ 9:23 am
When someone refers us to another person, it creates a synergy between them. The person who we then contact realizes their friend or business associate is thinking about them and looking out for their best interest. They in turn may begin thinking about how they can best assist their associate with leads and opportunities in the future. The whole concept of reciprocity kicks in…
Referrals create opportunities that would otherwise be blocked out by normal human filters when a stranger calls. Most people would rather do business with someone they know or that has some connection to them.
When you give a referral, you get to feel good knowing you have done something positive for another individual. Little victories keep you smiling and they propel you during your day. When you provide a referral, good things are coming your way…perhaps that big order, or great seats to a ball game, or other fun stuff. Who knows, the key is it’s out there now and will come back to you in some way.
Comment by Ken Budka — June 11, 2009 @ 9:44 am
I believe that at their core nearly everyone wants to help other people. Thus, if you really believe in the product or service that you sell, and if you truly deliver an awesome experience/product to your clients, then your clients should WANT to help others experience the same thing. I guess that’s the benefit…helping other people.
Comment by David — June 11, 2009 @ 1:12 pm
Hi Tom long time no see. well I agree with how does it benifit the client.
well we give away one of three small gifts right away when they give us
three referrals most of the time even if they just give us one and
if one of the referrals buys or rents anything they are
entered into our big screen give away and as an added bonus we draw each month
where they could win a $50 gift certificate for a local restaurant. it works
Comment by Marty P — June 13, 2009 @ 9:12 am