Roadmap to Referrals

Over a series of episodes we've been breaking down the six layers of the referral strategy. The first two layers are plans you need to have, the existing referral source plan and the potential referral source plan. The other 4 layers are language tactics, tools in your toolbox you need for specific moments to help you generate referrals and create more referral sources. In this episode we break down two of the language tactics... language tactics for prospects who are referred and language tactics for prospects not referred. When dealing with prospects , the language tactic I want you to master is how and when to plant referral seeds during the buyer's journey.

You can find the image of the prospecting or sales funnel plus the Referral Strategy Layering PDF on the show notes page at www.staceybrownrandall.com/147.

Second quarter is starting... and now is the time to put a referral plan in place to take care of your referral sources. In this episode I break down the who, what, when, why and how of referrals so you can get started the right way!

All resources mentioned in this episode can be found on the show notes page at www.staceybrownrandall.com/146.

So in the last episode (#144), I went on a rant talking about how we should be caring for our referral sources, not testing them. If you missed it, well, I encourage you to go listen to it. Because this week's episode is a discussion with my buddy Jordan Ostroff based on the previous episode. Let's just say it all started with a LinkedIn post by Jordan about referrals in which someone (who will remain nameless) commented on how we're to handle and treat our referral sources. That perspective was to test them for the win-win, test their follow through or time management skills to see if they are worthy of your time. As you can imagine, I fell on the other side of, completely against this perspective. So after my soapbox in episode #144, I thought it would be good to have Jordan come on as we discuss that LinkedIn post.

All resources mentioned in the show are included on the show notes page at staceybrownrandall.com/145.

Even today - in 2021 - there is something very wrong with how referrals are discussed, handled and taught. There is a dangerous mindset out there that is doing damage to what I call the "collective referral mindset." The collective referral mindset is how we - collectively - think about referrals. The mindset has been dominated by one thought for decades. You guessed it, the asking for referrals advice. But lately I'm seeing another type of mindset move into focus that is an off-shoot from the "asking" advice. Join me as I dig in. By the way - soapbox alert, consider yourself warned.

Resources mentioned in this episode can be found on the show notes page at www.staceybrownrandall.com/144.

I felt it was time to re-visit the fundamental philosophy of how referrals without asking works. Specifically because what's on deck in two upcoming episodes. Meaning I want to make sure you're crystal clear on the referrals without asking philosophy, how we define referrals, who's in the cast of characters and what a referral is really all about. This foundation will help you understand why I think many - though not all - have it wrong with how referrals are taught, discussed or talked about today.

All resources mentioned in this episode can be found on the show notes page for this episode at www.staceybrownrandall.com/143.

When developing a referral strategy there is one important skill you need to learn and have in place. It has to do with the 2nd layer of the referral strategy. ..it's the the ability to know how to turn clients and contacts into referral sources. On today's episode I invited fellow Growth By Referrals student Jackie Ho, an architect, to share her journey on learning and executing on the strategy I teach to develop potential referral sources into existing, current, active referral sources. And her success is impressive!

You can find the resources mentioned in this episode on the show notes page at www.staceybrownrandall.com/142.

In a previous episode I broke down the first layer of your referral strategy... how to receive more referrals from your existing referral sources. In this episode, we look at layer 2... how to turn clients and contacts into referrals sources. Most of us will need to know how to turn the people we wish would refer us into actual referral sources. We call this layer - layer #2 - the potential referral source layer.

You can download the visual to show you how all 6 layers of your referral strategy fit together on the show notes page at www.staceybrownrandall.com/141.

It's the number one question I've been receiving since the new year started... "How did referrals fare in 2020?" I looked over the data of how my clients in the Growth By Referrals program did to gather a few significant and key points. We looked at industry, how long they had been cultivating referral from their referral sources and if they continued with their 2020 touch point plan regardless of unknowns. In this episode, let's talk about successes and challenges.

You can find the resources mentioned in this episode on the show notes page at www.staceybrownrandall.com/140.

Sometimes the best way to learn and then apply what I teach about generating referrals without asking is through understanding how it worked for another business owner. As I teach you the first layer of your referral strategy, hear from David Ferguson, a financial planner, on what he learned and experienced as he put the first layer of his referral strategy in place. He shares the lightbulb moments he had plus his success.

All resources mentioned in this episode are available on the show notes pages at www.staceybrownrandall.com/139.

Last three episodes we've been digging into referral sources. Understanding who they are, the relationship you have with them, if they are active or not active. In this episode, #138, I'll show you why knowing who your referral sources are is so important. In a previous episode I introduced the concept of looking at your referral strategy from a layering approach. The first layer of that strategy is what you do to take care of your existing referral sources. Let's break the layer down, step-by-step.

You can find all resources mentioned in this episode, including the layered approach download, on the show notes page at www.staceybrownrandall.com/138.