REFERRALS

One part of business appears to be unpracticed and misunderstood by many and perfected by a few.  Referrals.  Whether you refer business or receive referrals you know the power of the referral.  This is overlooked in sales positions as a part of the basic training.  It is seldom revisited in regular meetings and is not taught by managers.  Surely it is mentioned and definitely a topic of discussion. Perhaps the managers never acquired the skill themselves. Therefore, they are ill-equipped to discuss the philosophy and follow through on the benefits of referrals.  The importance of referrals remains clear.  Without it, you will have a mediocre career.  This is where your relationships truly matter.

Who is your best referral source?  What are the demographics or geographic details you need to pay attention to focus on for future business?  I like to think of the referrals as a two-tiered process.  The first part is a building tier.  This requires providing a good level of customer service and satisfaction.  As your experience grows and your customer base increases, you are apt to receive referrals from those you have helped.  They are more inclined to recommend a person when you gave them prompt and effective service or a professional service or product of quality in a timely fashion.  Price may not be a factor.  The second is maintaining a database of your customers for follow-up and developing a system to acknowledge your referral source.  This can be somewhat difficult in a heavily regulated industry such as financial and the type of appreciation you can bestow upon them may have limitations.  

One of the things I learned in mortgage lending was people needed help with their finances.  They wanted to have a discussion.  They wanted to explain their circumstances and heavily relied on a loan officer with a diverse background for help.  Real estate and money and family are very emotional topics.  The interest rate was discussed later in the conversation.  A full discussion to include future plans needed to be uncovered before a discussion of the interest rate.  I quickly found out-one mortgage does not fit all.  There were many people who refinanced multiple times with varying terms and reasons over a 7 to 10-year period.  Some people were adding to their principal balance and paying unnecessary fees and interest because they did not want to have the discussion.  For instance; they wanted to refinance because their neighbor did.  Those that did have an in-depth discussion with me, were more inclined to have a mortgage solution, that made sense and was financially palatable saving them money in the long term.  Those were the people who became repeat customers and gave referrals to their friends and family members to use my services.   And, that is precisely what I strive for today.

If someone wants quality service, assistance, or product, they understand value.  Price isn't their first thought and isn't necessarily the driving force to seek your business help.  Keep that in mind.  Your service/product has value.  It is valued by others.  You work hard and your customers understand this.  That is why the referral system works.  It is a reward for your hard work, level of expertise, and dedication to your belief in yourself.  Knowing your value adds to your confidence and works in tandem with success and prosperity.