Referrals. Most people in the business world have a true love-hate relationship with them. Referrals tend to be the greatest source of new business and we know we’re supposed to ask for them. But, we hate asking for them and usually don’t even know the right way to ask for them. This isn’t because there’s a shortage of business coaches, news articles and books written on it. Just type in the word “referral” in the Amazon books section and you’ll find over 4,000 books on the topic. However, for some reason they just don’t seem to do the trick.
Until now. I recently read Fearless Referrals: Boost Your Confidence, Break Down Doors, and Build a Powerful Client List by Matt Anderson. I enjoyed this book so much and found it very valuable because it focused on three areas.
First, it discussed the idea of referrals, not just as an act itself, but in helping you meet your individual purpose. You need to grow your business in order to meet your higher purpose in life. Merely going day-to-day and maintaining the status quo is insufficient if you want to grow as an individual, be the leader you’ve always dreamed about, helped your employees, and your organization reach new heights. Anderson focuses on helping you understand how referrals help you reach your higher purpose.
Second, Anderson helps you get rid of those nagging insecurities about why you don’t ask for referrals, and he challenges you to overcome your traditional excuses for not asking for them. He gives you easy tools to step outside your comfort zone and make asking for a referral an easy process.
Lastly, and the main reason I like this book so much, is Anderson gives you real world examples about conversations you should have, items you should add to your meeting agendas, and specific ideas to improve the likelihood of referrals. This is why his book stands out from others. Importantly, Anderson strives to make sure that asking for referrals becomes a habit. Other books merely tell you about the importance of referrals and gives you specific ideas you can implement.
If you’re looking to increase your referrals, I highly recommend this book. I’m sure there are others on the topic (and others that I have already read), but I still think this may be the best of the lot.
If you’ve read others, or even read this book, let me hear your comments. Also let me know your strategies to increase your referrals from existing clients and prospects. I’ll share them with my readers and we can all grow our businesses together.
