Give Valuable Information, Get More Referrals

Last week I posted a blog on the benefits of turning to your network for advice. It’s also very important to remember that everyone benefits when you give valuable advice to your network.

Think about how you can give your prospective referral sources valuable advice related to your specialty or profession, such as advance notice of a change in procedures that will affect them, tips on how to initiate the changes they will need to make, or other information that can help your network members achieve satisfaction or success.

One of your goals is to get network members to feel that you are a link to privileged information–that you’re an insider. The advice you give may lead your prospective sources to seek you out for answers to their questions or to feel that you’re looking out for their best interests. It’s a great way to remind your prospective referral sources of what you do.

Use these tips to help pinpoint what to share with your network and how to share it with them:

• List the topics that you feel comfortable giving advice on, then list network members who might need advice on each topic.
• Decide whether you will apply this tactic formally, such as by newsletter, or informally, such as in a personal note.
• Decide how frequently you will send updates.
• Ask your sources to name others who might benefit from your advice.
• Periodically ask your network members whether they find your advice useful.
• Tell your network members to let you know if they don’t wish to receive your updates.

Offering valuable information to your network will not only help them, more important for you, it will keep you on their minds and encourage them to refer you and speak highly of your professional knowledge.