The Ecology of Referrals
A friend and former colleague recently pointed out to me that one of the trickiest areas of communication for professionals has to do with referrals. Referrals in and referrals out.
Most professionals and entrepreneurs live and die by referrals. Existing clients may be the bread and butter, but new clients represent growth and diversification.
Compared to advertising, cold-calling or buying books of business, referrals provide a stream of clients who are (generally) pre-qualified as to economic and professional value; that is to say, referrals tend to pay their bills and provide interesting work which can enhance your reputation.
The problem is that the ecology of referrals is a very delicate one and the management of referrals received and sent is very sensitive.
Over the next few weeks I will cover some of the rewards, risks and requirements of handling referrals. I won’t specifically get into “how to get referrals” — you need to speak to my friend Michael Hughes, the “Networking Guru” about that! Our discussion will be about the management and etiquette of the referral relationship and dealing with referrals in and out.
Some of the questions that may be covered include:
* Does a referral relationship require reciprocity?
* How much information should you pass along when making a referral? Are there professional, privacy or ethical issues?
* When is a “heads up” called for?
* How much “thank you” is enough, and how much is too much?
* What about referrals that go bad?
* How do you manage the “ask” referrals?
The best questions, of course, are your questions. What are yours? Let me know at norm@purposeful.ca (mailto:norm@purposeful.ca)
My blogs (http://www.purposeful.ca/blog)