Where do referrals come from?

One fear of new and long-serving members of networking groups is their ability, or perceived inability to find referrals.
Often people think referrals are a scarce commodity that are like finding needles in haystack or diamonds in coal, and they are right!
However, if you know where to look and how to listen, referrals are everywhere.

Among the ways you will notice referrals in your day to day life are

1. Complaints
If you are talking to someone about your services, or even generally at a bbq or other social gathering, they will often be so frustrated with some other aspect of their life that they have to complain to you.

My stupid accountant.
The builder doesn’t show up…

At this point you need to make sure that it is not the account you might consider referring, and then you say something like.
“I know a…. who I meet with weekly at my networking group. They are very trustworthy and reliable, would you like their details…
From there you can pass the details of your contact to the person with the frustration

2. Add-ons
Often in networking groups, there are members who complement each other and can work together to provide a fuller service to a client.

Such power groups might be

the accountant / lawyer / web designer who can all help start-up businesses

The mechanic / panel beater / insurance company – who can help car owners

The roofer / plumber / Painter who can help with renovations

By knowing and trusting the members of your power groups (and you may be a member of several even within one networking group), you are able to recommend them proactively to a potential client. This is the equivalent of you generating the referral, knowing of the client's needs.

3.Trusted enquiries
The third type of referral will come from you being trusted by other people to give good advice or recommend good service providers in the past.

These conversations start “I’m thinking of doing X do you know someone who can help?”