Do you regularly get referrals from your contacts and industry partners?

Most loan officers and real estate brokers understand the importance of building a strong referral base. Referrals are not only pre-sold on using your services, but they tend to be less price sensitive and easier to work with than leads coming in from other marketing activities such as print, or web advertising.

So why are you not getting the number of referrals you want?

Myth #1
Providing good service will lead to referrals. While you definitely will not get referrals if you do not properly service your clients, good service in itself is not enough. Just think of examples from your experience. how many times have you received good service from a mechanic or handyman and failed to tell anyone? what could that person have done differently to get a referral from you?

Myth #2
You do not know enough people to get referrals. This is a common complaint, but the truth is that you already know enough people and a lot of these people would love to start sending business your way. If you don’t believe me, stop and think. Do you know any real estate agents [for loan officer]? How about an accountant? Someone in sales? What about Human Resource managers at the local company? The average person knows about 250 people that they can recall by name, so a lack of referrals i s not due to not knowing enough people.

Myth #3
People know that you want referrals. I was speaking with a loan officer the other day who was upset because their brother referred a friend to someone else. When she confronted her brother about this and asked why he did not sen the referral her way, the response she got was “I did not think you would want to do their loan.” Believe it or not, a lot of the people you know either don’t understand that you want referrals or think that they are bothering you by using your service. If you are not regularly reminding them about what you do and that you lover referrals, they will NOT send any your way.

So how do I start getting the referrals I deserve?

Generating a steady stream of referrals takes work. You have to keep your name, line of work and referral requests in front of everyone you know. Supposing that you know 250 people (not counting your clients), you already have a set of people who want to do business with you or refer someone to you. You just have to remind them of that fact. While there may note be a magic wand that will instantly bring clients to your door, there are some things you can do that will bring real results.