The Value of Mutual Reciprocity by Referrals

"LOYAL customers, they don’t just come back, they don’t simply recommend you, they INSIST that their friends do business with you."  ~Chip Bell, Founder Chip Bell Group

How Can I Ever Repay You?

Over the years, is there someone in your circle of influence who has inspired you, who has impacted your life in a fruitful way, whether personally or professionally?  Have you expressed your deepest gratitude with words like:  "How can I ever repay you”  or, “I owe you big time”?.  If yes, did you take action toward helping your friend grow his/her business, or did you stop there simply because you were unclear on what more you can do beyond saying, "thank you"?

Dear Why Annie Armen Readers, while it is appreciated to acknowledge, validate, and genuinely compliment a fellow friend/colleague/client for all the ways he/she has helped impact your life both personally and professionally, why stop there?  

Share Your Experience With Others 

After thanking someone for their help, often times you may hear a response that goes something like this:  "No need to thank me.  Would much prefer if you can share your experience with others."  Do you know why that is?

When you choose to let others know about your positive experience from professional services rendered, that action taken on your part potentially results in your friend acquiring new business by your referral.  The value of mutual reciprocity by referrals is a beautiful thing!

Now the Question Becomes, HOW? 

While many of you may already be familiar with the list you are about to read below, perhaps you may find value in putting this 'friendly reminder list" to use by sharing this article with others who are looking for effective ways to refer business your way.  Here below are 5 simple action steps you can take now to address the "how" factor in “How can I ever repay you?:

1.  Write up a professional endorsement (preferably using your company letterhead) sharing your positive experience to generate potential referral leads for your friend.  Both mail the original copy and email it to your friend as an attachment, for his/her instant use.

2.  Visit your friend's social media pages online at LinkedIn, Google+, and Facebook for starters.  Look for the "reviews" section.  Copy and paste your endorsement there to make your shout out visible to the public to generate lead traffic toward your friend's business.

3.  Do you have a blog?  If your answer is no, you can create one at no cost to you by visiting either blogger.com or wordpress.com.  After creating one, or if you already have a blog, you can write and publish an article about your amazing experience(s) in working with your friend, and the impact his/her guidance has had on your business, with a link to your friend's website(s).  How cool is that! 

Here is one example of an article I wrote referring my top 3 clients, titled "5 Days of Business". 

4.  VERY IMPORTANT STEP:   Ask your friend to produce a letter that you can share and give to people in your extended network to make it very easy for you to refer his/her professional services to others.

5.  Review your overall "contacts" base and purposefully select 5-10 potential persons and/or organizations you can reach out to, who you believe can benefit from your friend's services.  Here is where you can now use the specific letter produced by your friend (refer to step #4 above) to effectively facilitate an introduction and activate the referral process.

Nothing is Ever for FREE

When you are asked for pricing for your friend's services, immediately refer them to your friend for that particular discussion, and stay clear of volunteering information like:  "I was lucky... Charlie didn't charge me for anything."  Why?

When you say you were rendered professional services for “free”, without your intention, you are hurting your friend's business, and you are potentially advertising false hope -- that perhaps, just perhaps he or she can also receive "free" service(s).  Please stop and think about that for a moment.

The reality is, you in fact HAVE PAID into your friend's business over the years in many other ways, which has earned you that complimentary service.  For example, you may have provided your friend with revenue generating ideas that have resulted in ROI for his/her business.  Your friend recognizes this fact, and chooses to reciprocate complimentary services to help YOU (not potential referrals) in mutual reciprocity.  

Remember, nothing is ever for FREE!  Someone is always paying the price somewhere!

AnnieBiotics 

The Value of Mutual Reciprocity by Business Referrals is a beautiful thing!  While feeling and expressing gratitude is important, purposeful actions taken immediately thereafter to compliment your heartfelt words of gratitude go a long way, resulting in mutually loyal, fruitful relationships both personally and professionally! 

As you are working on referring business to your friend, let's reciprocate to you as well. 

1.  Who do you know who can recommend you today? 
2.  What type of person / company makes a good referral for you?
3.  Have you produced a letter he or she can use to refer business your way?

~Annie Armen  

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3.  30 Quotes on COMMITMENT in Business and in Life
4.  30 Quotes on ACTION in Business and in Life
5.  20 Quotes on COMMUNICATION in Business and in Life
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