Fearless Referrals: Boost Your Confidence, Break Down Doors, and Build a Powerful Client List

CHAPTER 2EARNING THE FEARLESS REFERRAL

Our only real economic security lies in our power to meet human needs; (it) does not lie in our organizations or our jobs.

—Stephen Covey, The 8th Habit

Before you start asking clients for referrals, there are some rules you need to consider.

YOU ONLY ASK FOR REFERRALS IF YOU’VE EARNED THEM!

Too much of what we hear about referrals is based on techniques: how to ask, when to ask, what to say, and whom to get them from. We don’t spend enough time focusing on what we are actually doing to earn the word-of-mouth recommendation.

Let’s look at some word-of-mouth facts highlighted in Andy Sernovitz’s Word of Mouth Marketing:

PEOPLE DON’T TALK ABOUT THE ORDINARY

Have you ever recommended that someone eat at Perkins ...