Do you ever wonder why you are not getting referrals from your sphere of influence; the friends, family, clients, business associates and alliances that know you best?

It usually boils down to two or three problems all of which we are guilty of at one time or another.

1. You are not asking them for referrals.
2. They don’t know you need referrals.
3. You don’t follow up and acknowledge referrals.

Why don’t people automatically refer business to you?

For the same reason you are not referring business to them. People are busy, they forget about you in their day to day life, they are not sure what exactly you do or that you even want referrals.

Our basic human nature is to help others, but we also don’t want to impose ourselves on others. In the absence of a clear message from you that you are building your business on referrals it is implied that you are doing fine without them.

I think there are four main elements involved in generating referrals:

1. Networking – business and social
2. Marketing – All of the visible, written aspects of spreading your brand
3. Communication – verbal activities related to contacting your sphere of influence
4. Responsiveness – The follow up of the referral and the recognition of the person referring

You need to be good at all four of these elements to build a successful referral business.

Networking

Networking is all of the activities, both social and business that bring you into contact with potential customers or clients. These activities should turn total strangers into warm prospects and potential referral business with a few simple follow-up steps. When you make a connection with someone and earn the right to contact them again you need to concentrate on building trust and communicating what you do effectively. You might send them a handwritten thank you note, an email or letter with your business card acknowledging your new relationship and your willingness to help each other.

Marketing

Your marketing efforts which include all of your printed material, web site, brochures and email stationery are the tools you use to communicate your brand and build awareness of your business. Pay careful attention to the message you are sending. When you meet people are you making excuses for your business cards? Are you adding additional information on the back that you should have had printed on there in the first place? If you have a picture on your business card does it look like you? When you follow-up with a referral does all of your marketing material communicate the same, professional image?

Communication

Communicating with your sphere of influence is vital to your success. Before the advent of email we used to phone or write letters to our sphere of influence. Now it is too easy to fire off a quick email or send a newsletter electronically and think we are actually reinforcing our relationships. Don’t fall into the trap that any communication is good communication. Pick up the phone. Talk to people. Tell them what you do. Ask how they are doing. Ask if you can help their business and ask them for referrals.

You need to develop follow-up systems tailored to the strength of the relationship you have with your sphere of influence. You can communicate too much. For example, your friends are part of your sphere of influence, but you might communicate 4 times a year through a birthday card, Christmas card, invitation to an event and a meeting at a social gathering. This might be all they need to remember that you would appreciate their referrals.

Clients who have recently worked with you should have their own follow-up system which might consist of an immediate thank you card follow-up; a personal letter within 6 weeks; a telephone call at the 3 month mark and then a monthly newsletter. The actual system you develop is going to be one that you can sustain and effectively communicates your message.

Responsiveness

Your responsiveness to both the referral and the person referring is also critical to the long term success of a referral relationship. Bottom line is that when we refer someone we want to feel appreciated by both the person we are referring and the person who we referred them to. If you do not respond in a timely, professional manner it is a reflection on our judgment and it doesn’t take too many complaints from people we are referring to cut off referrals.
Conversely, if we do not receive recognition for a referral it does not take long for us to feel unappreciated and fall back into forgetting about your business.

There is no foolproof system for building referral business, but I do know this about most businesses:

• You need to be actively networking in business and social environments to grow your sphere of influence.
• You need to use the phone and written communication more than you use email.
• You need to communicate effectively what you do and what types of referrals you are looking for.
• You need to respond promptly to referrals.
• You need to thank people for referrals.
• You need to refer to people in your sphere of influence.

Check out our series of more than 20 Marketing For Realtors E-Books by clicking here. Don’t be afraid. We may never contact you and worst case we will email you once. Not a bad trade for access to our experience.

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I originally contributed this blog post for the Real Estate Weekly website.

Creating a client appreciation is about creating a “return on experience” vs “return on investment”.

I can’t remember where I read the quote that client appreciation events are for “friend-raising, not fund-raising”, but it is great advice.  A good event involves all five senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and of course taste which is usually everyone’s favorite!  It’s important to be involved with the client throughout the event so they do more than just see and hear you speak.

What do you want to accomplish?

• Build a foundation of trust, which solidifies loyalty
• Reveal your depth of character to build friendship
• Share your mission, your business philosophy
  Show your appreciation
• Gather important life information about your clients and referrals

The secret to a successful client appreciation event is having an effective marketing strategy and planning. Now the planning part is obvious, but why is the marketing strategy important? You need to be aware of the perception the event is going to create and how the event will impact your business. By nature it is to show your appreciation for their business, but the choice of event and the venue will have a major impact on the results.

• Will you be mingling or sitting in an audience?
• Will there be an opportunity for your clients to network among themselves?
• Will they be feeling they are participating in a cause such as a charity event or simply enjoying themselves?

A successful event should be seen not only as an opportunity to make your clients feel appreciated, but it should demonstrate that you care about them too by ensuring they can meet new people and potentially help their businesses too. Keep in mind some of these events will be high touch and some will allow little contact with your clients.

Generally client appreciation events fall into four major categories:

1. Charitable Events – Hosting an event where the proceeds go to charity or paying the fee for your clients to participate in an event like a golf tournament or gala evening for a cause.
2. Sporting and Recreational – Hosting a golf tournament, family softball game, a night at the horse races, tickets to a hockey or baseball game etc
3. Cultural and the Arts – Inviting clients to plays, concerts, art shows etc.
4. Educational – Inviting clients to a seminar, to listen to a speaker, to learn something such as a cooking class or travel lecture.

When you choose an event think about the following:

• Does this fit in with the image of me and or my business?
• Is it high touch or low touch? Will I be able to meet clients one-on-one?
• How much will the event cost?
• How much of my time will be required prior to the event?
• What will be the lasting impact of the event?
• What do I hope to achieve from this event? Intrinsic value? Financial return?
• Will my clients mingle well together or should I hold two events and segment my guests?
• How will I invite guests and ensure they actually attend?

Event Ideas

Get your client appreciation dollars to stretch further and identify the kinds of events that will have clients remembering you in a positive light — and not just for the free food and drinks.

Start by breaking event ideas down into two basic components; place and activity. Next focus on making each of those components unique and as “outside the box” as possible. Here are a wide range of ideas for events:

1. Have clients collect winter coats and blankets and drop them off at a location where you serve hot chocolate and a BBQ lunch
2. Rent a movie theatre for mid-day
3. Bring in a guest speaker
4. Host a paper shredding party
5. Invite clients to a cooking class
6. Wine & Cheese tasting at a local restaurant or wine store
7. Chocolate tasting at a local Chocolatier
8. Private tour of the zoo
9. Create a Scavenger Hunt for clients and a have a party after
10. Host a car rally
11. Old-fashioned family picnic (bouncy castles etc)
12. Halloween and holiday parties like an Easter egg hunt
13. Bowling tournament
14. Casino night with proceeds to a charity
15. Rent out a public pool for a family swim night
16. Rent the IMAX Theatre for a special showing
17. Have a magician teach clients magic tricks
18. Host a dinner cruise
19. Reserve go-carts at the local track
20. Sports Fishing charter

Implementation

First steps:

1. Choose a date – don’t be afraid of week night events.
2. Send actual invitations approximately 30 days before the event with an RSVP time of 10 days before the event.  A rule of thumb is 1/3 will attend.

Call clients on the list after the RSVP date if you have too few attending. You can then start inviting new people or encourage your attendees to bring along extra friends and family.

Set-Up Tips:

• Be at the entrance to greet your guests.
• Have all guests wear name tags (preferably greet guests at the door after the name tags have been applied).

Tips for success:

• Have the event catered.
• Take lots of pictures or have a photographer.
• If you have staff or a team have them do as little work at the event a possible so they can mingle and enjoy the guests – Get outside help.
• Think of using a Polaroid so clients can take them home.
• Have door prizes and raffles for extra fun.
• Do not be discouraged if your first-year turnout is small.
• Send a thank-you note to attendees.
• Send a newsletter afterwards with pictures to all you have invited so everyone who did not attend can see how much fun it is.
• Do not have any business-related discussions at the event unless you are specifically asked, then ask to follow-up with a phone call and book an appointment later – Just focus on fun.

Worried about the cost?

Find a Sponsor

Another way to lower costs on client events is to work with a partner, such as an accountant , mortgage broker, conveyancing lawyer, home inspector or floor plan or staging company that is willing to split the bill with you to reach the same type of crowd.

One of the key criteria for a client appreciation event is to provide an event that makes the participant feel like they are part of something special. Often it is not how much you spend on the event, but it is how you spend that will make the difference.

The bottom line is to really have clients appreciate the relationship they have with you and your business.

Check out our series of more than 20 Marketing For Realtors E-Books by clicking here. Don’t be afraid. We may never contact you and worst case we will email you once. Not a bad trade for access to our experience.