The thing about referrals is that people refer more because of their relationship with you than any reward you’re going to give. So, people get really hung up on the “If I just reward them enough, I’ll get the referral.”
When the reality is it really has to do with their relationship with you.
So, for example, I’ve got a dermatologist that I love. She’s phenomenal. And we sit and talk business just for shits and giggles, you know what I mean? She’s great. I love her. She just started a business. She’s super smart, and she’s fantastic at her job. If she said to me, “Hey, do you know anybody you could refer me to?” I would get out a list and make a point of helping her out. Just because she asked because I like her. I have a good relationship with her.
We’ve done work with Jack Daly, John Ratliff, Randy Schwantz, and Mike Michalowicz. Mike Michalowicz just asked me to do this. He came to me with a new book he was launching. He’s a great author, and his material is phenomenal, and I have no qualms referring anybody to buying his books because they’re so good and have so much great information. And he said, “Hey, do you think he could do me a favor, and maybe, you know, promote my book a little bit?” So, I was like, “Absolutely.”
He didn’t pay me anything to do it. He didn’t have to incentivize me. He didn’t have to send me a Christmas card.
All he had to do was ask, and I sent out two or three emails to my entire list of over 80,000 MSPs promoting his book. And I did it because he’s great at what he does. I stand behind that. I mean, he’s high integrity, and I want to help him.
So don’t get too hung up on the reward. One, build the relationship, so they want to refer you. And then two, make sure you ask. Now, I’m not against a reward. So, you could say for every referral you send us, we give you a $100 gift certificate or something like that.
You know you want to recognize and reward referrals. I’m not saying don’t.
But what I’m saying is, “Something in there is good enough is good enough,” right? Meaning, a hundred dollars if you refer somebody, I would say pay for the referral, not just them becoming a customer. So, if they refer somebody to you, you know, send them a little something. Find a good chocolate place, candy place, or something local and send them a small, little token of a gift if they refer somebody.
When you reward referrals, it doesn’t have to be anything big.
I mean, Angie’s List used to send a bag of M&Ms in the mail. I know that sounds crazy, but they send you this big ass, giant bag of M&Ms if you referred somebody. And it’s kind of funny. It’s not like a big, expensive present, but when you get a bag of M&Ms, you’re like, “Wow, that’s cool. I didn’t expect anything, and I got that.” So, give recognition for just a referral, and maybe $100 if they become a customer.
Then the next thing is, after every interaction, you want to remind people, “Hey, we love referrals, please refer us to people.” So, you know, if you’re doing QBRs, that’s the time to ask for them. Put it in your newsletter. If you do a service call, you could say, “Hey, just as a reminder, we love referrals. If you know anybody, let us know, and you know, we’ll give them a discount, and we’ll give you $100 if they become a customer.” I think it’s more a matter of just asking and making sure that those referrals get rewarded more than there is some trick to it. There’s no magic gift that’s going to get people to jump on referring you like crazy. It really has to do more with the relationship, and you have to ask.
