A Referral State of Mind

by Lynn Grodzki

{previously published in the Private Practice Success Newsletter, Dec 2009}

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Billy Joel wrote a song called “New York State of Mind,” an ode to returning to the East Coast after many years in LA.  Many of us in small business are in a “Referral State of Mind,” missing the frequency and reliability of referrals past.  Read on to see how you can increase referrals with grace, during this season of giving.

Who doesn’t love a referral? A client referral from a colleague or professional contact is always prized. Referrals infer trust and goodwill. With a referral, building the initial client connection is easier; the work of therapy, consulting, or coaching can begin right away.

But many of those in private practice have noticed a drop in referrals during the past year, as the recession takes its toll on our businesses. Even in a difficult economy, there is more that you can do to elicit referrals. Here is one strategy to incorporate into your practice-building efforts now that fits into the season of Thanksgiving.

Marketer Bill Cates says that building a business based on referrals is a mind-set. You must become an expert at not just getting referrals but also giving referrals.

Karmic Marketing

Karmic marketing means: What goes around, comes around. In my newest book I call this a “Give to Get” strategy of networking. When business is slow, think:  Who can I connect with and what do I have to give?

Over time, giving to others in your network leads to opportunities and referrals. At the very least you will generate good will, an important cornerstone of a viable business. Read on to see how this works.

My friend Cathy Lange, a leadership and executive coach, has developed the “Give to Get” strategy into a way of life. Cathy seeds many of her professional relationships with the idea of giving. “When I meet someone, I think about how I can be of help, long before I ask for anything,” she explains.

What does Cathy have to give? “Well, I love to take people out for lunch. I offer resources, referrals, open my rolodex. I can spend time, give free advice sometimes have some expertise that makes a difference. I might send an article, invite someone to a networking event, connect them to other resources, make introductions.”

The Give to Get strategy does not mean that you “give away the store.” But you can gift others with a “taste’ of your services as a way of reaching out.

During Thanksgiving week, one massage therapist I know gives free 15-minute massages to those in his business network. “Everyone is so stressed. I just want to help out those I can. I put out the welcome mat on the Friday after Thanksgiving. My colleagues can stop by, chat, and get a mini-back massage. Its fun for me and as they get to know and trust my services, they send me referrals. I don’t offer the mini-massage for that reason, but I welcome the result.”

Giving to Get

One veteran social worker gives back to her local community as a parent. Since she has children at home, she volunteers time at their schools and at the neighborhood soccer team. She gets known through these channels and develops relationships with other parents and teachers. These parents and teachers are her friends, not potential clients. But they need services and she finds herself making a dozen referrals each year to other therapists and health professionals.

Then those professionals reciprocate in kind, because she knows how to ask for referrals back, to keep her business network reciprocal and mutual.

Try this:

1) Create a diagram of concentric circles and place your practice at the center.

2) Name each circle to reflect the links to existing communities that surround your practice now. One may be your geographic community (neighborhood), another may be your professional community (clinical societies, business associations), others may be related to shared interests (sports, arts, volunteer, religious, social).

These do not need to be communities that you currently take part in, only communities that exist. Add as many circles as you need to represent the position of your practice.

3) Pick one circle. Think how to add value to that circle. Don’t contribute money–get personally involved and give something of yourself to this community for the purpose of improving your world. Feeding the circle will enrich your immediate environment, one form of reciprocation.

4) What gifts do you have to give? To get referrals, give referrals.

When referring to other professionals, make sure you establish a reciprocal relationship by explicitly asking that the favor be returned.

5) Other gifts to give? Time, energy, attention, a listening ear, asking good questions, a warm presence, business ideas, humor and lightness, and brainstorming.