You're good. You have a well-thought-out referral marketing plan and you regularly get referrals from a range of special referral partners, right?

WRONG. Or at the least, unlikely.

Why? Because very few people have any kind of strategy for generating referrals beyond 'we deliver a great service and we ask for them occasionally.' Is it any wonder most people claim to grow their business by referral but struggle to get as many of the right kinds of referrals?

I'd like to give you some food for thought on an area of weakness for many referral marketing disciples - the follow up. In strong contact networking groups like BNI, you have one of the most powerful referral generating mechanisms in the world. But you still have to do the follow up and make the sale.

Depending on the complexity of what you're selling, the sales cycle and the ticket price, it may pay to go into some detail with your fact-finding on this new prospect. Here are 12 of the best questions I've used in the past to help me make the right kind of approach in the right kind of way to make the right kind of sale!

1. Who do they follow, admire or like?
2. How do you know each other?
3. Why is this a good referral for me?
4. How do you think they will respond to my approach?
5. What's the best way to get their attention/onside?
6. What drives them?
7. Will your referral partner/introducer be contacting the prospect?
8. How will contact be made?
9. How might they react when I approach them?
10. What are they likely to say?
11. What's the best place and time to contact the prospect?
12. What possible objections might I have to overcome?

Answers to just a few of these will put you in a better position to make the sale. And the more you can educate your referral partners, the more these questions are answered for you.

To learn more about how to craft a referral marketing plan that will double your business by referral in 12 months, guaranteed, here are two ways forward:

1. If you live in the East Midlands, and can get to Nottingham, Derby or Leicester in the next few weeks, come to one of our Referral Institute Success Masterclasses. Simply click a date to the right here - we run them once a month in each town.
2. If you live anywhere else, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it about you joining my intense six week Networking and Referrals Mentoring Program. It's incredible!
   

Here's to more referrals for all of us - there are plenty to go around if you know what you're doing. Get some education!