Referral Incentives | Dr. Ivan Misner®

9Oct2017

Standing in The Middle of Referralsstring(35) "Standing in The Middle of Referrals"

October 9, 2017

Networking, referral, Reticular Activating System Referral Incentives, Referrals, System, Video Blog, Word of Mouth

Referrals are all around us. Are you paying attention?

Watch the video to see why I have a photo of a crying baby with this blog.

Referrals are all around us, it’s just that we’re not paying enough attention to what’s going on in order to identify them. You see, there’s a part of our brain that’s called the Reticular Activating System. It can be described as a filter between our conscious and our subconscious mind. Your subconscious screens out things you determine that aren’t important and it alerts you about things you think are important. Therefore, understanding how it works can be a great tool to recognize the daily referral opportunities surrounding us.

Watch the video now to learn not only about the Reticular Activating System but also about another powerful tool which I call the “Language of Referrals”. After watching the video, you will likely begin to remember times when your Reticular Activating System was in full effect. However, you just didn’t realize it at the time. You may also remember instances where you’ve clearly heard the language of referrals in conversations with people.

I’d really love to hear about your referrals experience with one or both of these things so please share your story/stories in the comment forum below. Thanks!

30Mar2015

Who Cares about Your Business?string(30) "Who Cares about Your Business?"

Do you know who really cares about your business and wants to help you? Realistically, there are only a few basic ways of motivating people to care about and help build your business. Basically, it comes down to relationships and rewards.

Photo courtesy of graur codrin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Some folks, usually friends or family, will simply want to help because they like you and want you to do well. These people will be motivated by the relationship itself.

But in most other cases, the long term motivation to build your business is not based primarily on whether or not the other person likes you. Business partnerships, including referral relationships, almost always include some form of mutual reward; typically in the form of social or financial gain. Both you and your networking partner have something to gain, and you are both eager to help each other achieve it.

Some people are motivated by the potential for business referrals you can send, while others are motivated by the prestige and opportunities created by having a relationship with you. Regardless of the underlying motivation behind them, relationships can take time to prove profitable in a substantial way, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth cultivating. Ultimately, strong relationships will steer back opportunities because of the nature of networking itself and of the endless variety of products and services to which it can lead.

I firmly believe that most relationships will probably prove rewarding in the long term, even in cases where you don’t receive referrals in return. There are a few super successful people to whom we send referrals who’ve never reciprocated with a referral back. We’re motivated to continue helping them in any way we can simply because they will work with people we refer to them. That makes us look good, because it’s very difficult for the average person to start a working relationship with these very successful, very busy people.

If we refer someone, it opens a door that might never have otherwise opened. The new person that we are referring to our very busy friends or associates is the one who now goes out of his way to reciprocate. That’s our motivation; helping our networking partners achieve their goals. And, of course, in one form or another, it winds up coming back in some way.

What are some experiences you’ve had in which you’ve benefitted in some way or another as a result of truly caring about others’ businesses and helping them to grow and achieve their goals? I’d love to hear your story/stories so please share your experiences in the comment forum below. Thanks!

25Mar2013

Training Referral Sources to Generate Referrals for Youstring(55) "Training Referral Sources to Generate Referrals for You"

March 25, 2013

Ivan Misner

Behavior, Mind-set, Referral networking, referral sources, Referrals, STRONG CONTACT NETWORK Collaboration, Marketing/Sales, Networking, Networking Prep, Networking Tactics, Referral Incentives, Referrals, Relationships, Sales, Strategy, Success, Word of Mouth 3

If you interact with your clients, customers, referral sources, and contacts with a referral mind-set, show them that you are a giver, help others, and continually and strategically give referrals, you’re modeling the behavior you want others to exhibit toward you. By itself, however, that’s not enough to train them to give you referrals.

Contacts who are not involved in your strong-contact network may not be aware of what is involved in the kind of true referral networking that you are conducting. Often you will have to coach them as you go, letting them know exactly what you are doing, why you are doing it, and what they may expect from your efforts.

Let’s say you’ve heard about a colleague whose stolen credit cards have been used to run up some big charges: “Stephanie, I’ve been talking with a colleague about your identity-theft problem and have arranged for him to send you a number of internet links that will help you quickly straighten out your credit problems. I also know a lawyer who specializes in this field. Would you like for me to contact him for you? I hope you’ll keep me updated on your progress, and let me know if there’s any other way I can help.”

Similarly, if you’re passing a referral to an untrained but potentially valuable referral partner, let him know exactly what you’re doing and suggest ways he can reciprocate: “Jim, I know a specialist who provides the exact services you say you need. I’ve known him for fifteen years and have used him many times. He’s good, and he’s trustworthy. May I ask him to call you? And by the way, if you know a general contractor who constructs steel-frame buildings in the Valley and can use the new kind of fasteners I sell, would you please consider giving me a referral?”

By talking openly about what you’re doing, you’re not only modeling the behavior you want from your potential referral partner, you’re getting him to think about it, which is an essential part of learning. You’re also asking him to practice it in a way that will help him repeat the behavior later. It’s not a guarantee that he will reciprocate, but it makes it more likely that he will get the idea and respond in kind–at first, out of simple gratitude; later, out of the realization that a continuing referral relationship is good business for both of you.

One of the best ways to train a referral source is to go to a professional referral-training seminar and take your source with you. This way, you will both be trained by an expert and will be speaking the same language–the language of referrals.

If you have an additional tactic for training referral sources to generate referrals for you, I’d love to hear it. Please share it in the comment forum below. Thanks!

9May2011

The Referral Process–Step 4string(33) "The Referral Process–Step 4"

May 9, 2011

Ivan Misner

Referral Incentives, Referral Process: Step 4, referral sources, Referrals Marketing/Sales, Networking, Networking Prep, Referral Incentives, Referrals, Word of Mouth 4

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been explaining the easy, eight-step referral process in increments. Today I will be going over step 4 and if you’d like to review the previous steps I’ve already covered, simply click on each of the following links: step 1, step 2, and step 3.

Step 4. Meet with the Referral

Now comes the move you’ve been waiting for: your first meeting. You might close the deal on your first call, but it’s unlikely. Instead, you’re probably going to be getting acquainted with your potential new customer and gathering information to help you prepare a proposal. Now, what if you could get your referral source to go along? That would make it a real powerhouse meeting. It would add to your credibility and instantly deepen your relationship with the prospect.

If you do close the deal at your first meeting, you might think the referral process is over, but in fact it’s just started. Before you start turning cartwheels on your way out of the building, call your referral source, tell her what a great referral it was, and thank her for it. Then, when you’re back in your office, set your “thank you for the referral program” in motion.

If you don’t currently have a “thank you for the referral program,” you’ll need to create one right away because thanking your referral sources is extremely important if you want to ensure that they keep sending referrals your way. To learn more about referral incentives for your sources, you can check out a couple of blogs I wrote on the topic: “Simple Recognition Is Sometimes the Best Reward” and “A Win-Win Way to Reward Referral Sources.”

If you’re interested in learning more about the easy, eight-step referral process, be sure to check back next week because I’ll be explaining steps 5, 6, and 7.

4Oct2010

A Win-Win Way to Reward Referral Sourcesstring(40) "A Win-Win Way to Reward Referral Sources"

If you’re looking for creative ways to give referral incentives, it’s worth considering a technique I like to call “Incentive Triangulation.” This is a powerful way of leveraging other people’s services to benefit your customers, clients or patients and reward those who refer you.

The concept is simple and can be designed to fit the needs or requirements of any business. For example, a retailer might negotiate an arrangement with another local business, such as a florist, printer or appliance store owner, whereby that store will provide its customers with a discount of 10 percent or more on their next purchase. After that, each time someone gives you a referral, reward him with whatever you would normally give as an incentive and also a coupon good for the discount at the prearranged business.

This form of joint venture is beneficial for all three parties, hence the term “Incentive Triangulation.” You benefit because you are providing another incentive for people to refer you. The other business benefits because you are sending your clients to it, along with a recommendation, of course.

Finally, your clients will benefit because they got recognition for their effort as well as an additional product or service at a reduced rate.

If you have an example of how you’ve successfully used Incentive Triangulation, leave a comment and explain how you’ve used it. Your example could spark great ideas for other blog readers on how they might use the technique for their business.