How to Ask for Referrals

A good friend of mine recently asked a very good question.

"What are some of the best ideas you have seen for acquiring customer referrals."

If you attend any professional development or sales workshops you will be told, over and over again, that you must ask for referrals. I have been on the giving and receiving end of "the big ask" countless times and here's what I've learned.

When you put someone on the spot by asking them for a referral without any warning or prior notice you get what I call a "deer in the headlights referral." In that instant your customer freezes. The following dialog begins in your customer's head 

"Wow I wasn't expecting that! Who can I think of?....Who?...I've got to think of someone. JOHN! John needs this guy, they might really hit it off...No, wait. John might be pissed if I give out his name without asking first....Who else?....Who?...I've got to give him a name or he'll think I don't appreciate him....There's that guy I met at the last chamber function...what was his name? Rick?...He might want to talk....If he doesn't, big deal...he probably won't even remember who I am."

Returning to the conversation your customer says, "You should call Rick. He's a great guy and we were talking just the other day and I'll bet he could use your services."

These are not the referrals you want. But it's exactly what you will get if you don't give your customers time to think of someone who will be a good fit for you. I hate it when vendors do this to me and I've vowed never to treat my customers this way. Think about it. You are asking your customer to help you build your business. You are also asking them to entrust one of their relationships to you. Wouldn't you rather have a well considered, thoughtful conversation.

When you ask for referrals paint a clear picture of exactly what you are looking for and if possible relate it back to work you have just successfully delivered to the client. Instead of asking "Do you know anyone else that could use our service?" try a more intentional approach like the one outlined below.

"Can we talk for a minute? We've just finished this project and it turned out pretty well. You seem to be pleased with what we've done and frankly, we would like to do more of the exact type of work. Do you know of any other restaurant owners that might be having the same types of inventory control and labor issues that we've just helped you solve? I'd just like to take them to lunch and see if some of the same approaches might work out as well for them as they have for you."

Or you could try something like this.

"Your business is similar to several other businesses we work with and it looks a lot like businesses we'd like to find as new clients. Can you think of any friends or anyone else you might know in the business world that has a company with revenues in the $1 million range, around ten employees and pretty much stagnant growth over the last couple of years? We're looking to identify someone we can help get back on track, very similar to what we've done for you."

Do your customers a favor. Get specific about the types of referrals you are looking for and paint the picture for them. The clearer the picture the more likely they are to give you a high quality referral.

Spit and Polish Your Way to Bigger Profits (and more referrals)

Yesterday I spent an enjoyable morning with my sick three-year-old. During our time together we went to Starbucks, Target, Pediatrics in the Park and Chic-fil-A. At each of these businesses I noted incredible attention to detail that made it easier for me to either spend more money or look forward to my next visit.

The Starbucks we visited had an outdoor patio that the staff sprays down and cleans every night at 9:00. I know because I've been there several times while they've done it. At night it seems like overkill but in the morning when you walk onto that beautifully clean and sparkling patio it's genius. Outdoor areas are some of the most neglected for small businesses. What does your parking lot or sidewalk look like? You're numb to it because you see it everyday, but your customers get their first impression before they even step foot through the door.

The pediatricians office was spectacular. Forget about the vintage 80's arcade games in the lobby (Lance is surprisingly good at Frogger). What was impressive to me was the examination room. It was brightly painted with a 360 degree animal mural, but very sparsely furnished. There were two chairs, a custom examination table with a cabinet in one pedestal leg and a wastebasket in the other and a wooden puzzle mounted to the wall. This may not seem like a big deal until you experience it from the perspective of a 3-year-old gifted by God with an ability to cause trouble. There were no trash cans to get into. No toys to knock off tables. No glass jars full of cotton balls. No blinds to tangle. Just one tactile puzzle that got his attention and kept it until the doctor arrived. And the entire space, being easy to clean, was unsurprisingly spotless.

Target did one simple thing that made me want to kiss the person that came up with it. On the top of each hanger they've placed a little plastic tag with the pants size. No more digging through clothing racks, knocking stuff off the hanger and contorting to see the tag on a back of a pair of pants. The whole effect is one of complete order making it easy to find what you want before frustration sets in.

Chic-fil-A might as well be called "Pre-schooler Land" between 11:30 and 1:00. As we sat down to eat an employee followed us to the table, unwrapped a hermetically sealed placemat and stuck it to the table in front of Lance. For dad's like me this is no big deal, but for all you wet-wipe-toting, hand-sanitizer-squirting clean freaks out there this is huge. As soon as we were done with lunch our table was sprayed down and wiped clean, ready for the next parent staggering in for fifteen minutes of peace and quiet.

Cleanliness has been next to godliness since Poor Richard, but I think it might also be fairly acquainted with profits. Each of the three national chains mentioned above is well noted for above average profits and customer loyalty. Cleanliness and order are results of business processes that are carried out as a discipline everyday. Understand, cleanliness and order are not market differentiators in and of themselves. They are hallmarks of businesses that follow processes for everything from cleaning patios to greeting customers. Within process lies the ability to create a consistent experience for your customers. I know I need to get better at this as a business owner, and yesterday it was good to see things from the other side of the counter. Love your customers enough to build processes around their experience. They will thank you for it. I did.

10 Ways You Know You Were Born to be an Accountant (OR NOT)

Tim at bestcollegesonline.net asked me to comment on a recent article there and after I read it I am happy to offer some counterpoint. I agree with some of the reasoning but not most of it. My comments below should be read in the context of the original article so you may want to start there.

Nothing really bores you-Disagree. I think this applies to private accountants who work for one company, but it definitely doesn't apply to public accountants, those that are hired by multiple clients. One of the most attractive aspects of public accounting is the constant variety of clients, problems and scenarios. If you are the kind of person that likes routine public accounting probably isn't the place for you.

You've always embraced technology-Agree. But then again, if you don't like tech you probably aren't interested in anything in the business world. Saying you are technology averse today is kind of like saying you dislike transportation. OK, but get over it because the reality you live in requires that you take advantage of it.

You've always loved dealing with numbers-Disagree. Some of the best accountants I know are wizards at addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. But so are some of the brightest fifth graders in the world. Math is not so important as a desire for semi-hard edges. If you like measurable, quantifiable results accounting is a world you will find comforting. If you love math become an engineer, statistician, or actuary. Accounting will bore you to tears.

You have an abnormal passion for tax law-Disagree. If you are passionate about tax law become a tax attorney. Accountants are great compliance experts but the attorneys are the ones who see all the action when it comes to architecting complex transactions. There are many frustrated tax CPA's who wish they would have spent another three years attending law school.

You always sweated the details-Maybe. There is a need for accountants who won't sleep until the bank account reconciles to the penny. But these people are easy to find, train and duplicate. Thus, they are not the top income earners in the field. Much more valuable to clients are accountants who can draw the line where information gathering and reconciliation should stop and decision making should begin. Business owners (your eventual clients) never have the luxury of making decisions with 100% of the information and analysis possible. Knowing when 80% is good enough takes experience and skill, but it also requires taking a little risk, something accountants are not known to embrace. If you can balance the two you will do well by your clients.

You've always welcomed the challenge of solving a problem-Agree. Your clients will bring them to you in spades so you better like it. Enough said.

You've always been conservative with your time-Maybe. True, accountants must juggle multiple projects and rarely get the luxury of working an assignment from start to finish without interruption. However, the world is changing. Accountants accustomed to measuring their time in tenths of an hour are finding themselves behind the curve. Clients care about what you accomplish, not how long it takes. Should you be able to handle multiple projects? Yes. Should you become dominated by a time clock mentality? Definitely not.

You've always been a people person-Maybe. The best accountants have this trait. But they also put in years behind the desk before they spend most of their days on client factory floors and in their conference rooms. The experience gathering or "seasoning" required to get to this level often stifles young accountants to the point they choose to do something else. However, business models are changing, and we are starting to see young accountants enjoy more client contact, earlier, in much more collaborative accountant-client relationships. Just beware. If you are an extrovert think hard before joining an "old school" firm where junior associates are expected to pay their dues before stepping foot into a client meeting. 

You've always had a conservative appearance-Disagree. You need to make appearance a non-issue for your clients. It's not about a dress code. I've worn a suite and tie to meetings and I've met clients in shorts and flip flops. In both cases I wore what I wore because I wanted the issue at hand to be the focus, not my choice of wardrobe.

Your integrity has always been of the utmost importance to you-Agree. This is kind of like the technology point. Imagine a "10 Ways You Know You Were Born to be a _______________" article where one of the bullet points said "You're a no good scum ball people can't trust and integrity is not important to you." Integrity is important no matter what you do in life. Accountants are often vested with more integrity than other professions but the best clients will measure the integrity of the professional, not the profession.

I enjoyed reading the article from Best Online Colleges, but I felt it relied too heavily on stereotypes of accountants that do not ring true after fifteen years in the profession. There is a new breed of accounting professional that is emerging. Newcomers to the field have extraordinary access to leaders like @taxgirl @michellegolden @CPA_Trendlines @evenanerd @JodyPadarCPA @BillSheridan @DianeKennedyCPA @cfarmand @taxman45 @cpamom @DeepSkyAcc and @JasonMBlumer. If you think you are being called into the accounting field spend some time following these folks, read their blogs, ask them questions. Pretty soon you'll find out if you belong to this exciting community.

The Problem with Vision

As business owners we spend a lot of time talking about Vision. Leadership gurus talk about "casting the vision" and CEO's are reminded that vision is essential to long term success. But there might be a problem with vision. Vision does not create legacy, something I experienced first hand this past weekend.

Yesterday I attended a memorial service for Lela Steele. Grandma Steele as we all called her was probably the closest personification of Jesus Christ's love that I have ever encountered. I grew up in a church where she was a founding member and she became my spiritual grandmother, someone who loved me more deeply than I would have ever imagined. In her 70's Lela became a missionary to the Ukraine where she rescued scores of orphans from a miserable, corrupt, state run system that literally turned kids out on the street on their sixteenth birthday. She single handedly raised $250,000 to build a home for these kids. She was successful in getting scores of them adopted. And it was there in the Ukraine that she came to be known as "Babushka Lela", a term of endearment used by orphans, community leaders and city officials. It was only after she broke her hip that she was forced to return to the states. Last Friday morning sixteen years of missionary service drew to a close as Lela went home. And yesterday I witnessed something far more compelling than vision. In a church packed to the gills with hundreds of fellow "grandchildren" I experienced Legacy. Lela's legacy was a love for Jesus Christ that infected everyone around her. One of her "real" granddaughters shared how Lela had prayed early on that God would make her heart "big enough to love as Jesus loved." That love lead to legacy.

What does this have to do with business? A better question might be "what does business have to do with life?" When we as business owners find something to serve besides our bottom line we begin to create legacy. When we follow a path regardless of what others might think prudent or timely we create legacy. When business becomes ministry we create legacy. Vision is a powerful tool, but I'm afraid that if Grandma Steele had simply had great vision, she might have been too busy to notice a 14 year-old kid, to tell him he was handsome, to tell him that she loved him, and to tell him that Jesus loved him too. Vision can build an orphanage. Vision can build a successful business. Vision can build churches. But vision alone can't change the lives of those who encounter it. The life changing part...that's legacy.

Case Study - What Makes a Good Client Newsletter

In southwest Florida our beaches are made up of barrier islands and one of those islands, Anna Maria, is home to Island Real Estate. Every month broker Al Galletto publishes a newsletter that is head and shoulders above the communication pieces put out by most small businesses. Read it for yourself and you'll see how Al teaches us the following valuable lessons about client newsletters.

1. Homegrown is best. I get all types of newsletters from all types of professional businesses. Most are purchased content where the small business owner buys a pre-written newsletter from a company that sells that same content to hundreds or thousands of business owners. Al writes his own stuff and it shows. When you read Al's newsletter you're reading it for the content and you're reading it because Al wrote it. Self written newsletters are personal. They build relationships. Purchased content may give you insight, but it lacks the personal touch.


2. Substance matters. Al's newsletter has hard data in it that readers can use. Further, it demonstrates his competency. It's obvious that Al spends time compiling his facts and figures. But he doesn't stop there. Al offers commentary that shows he not only compiled the raw data, but he is also paying attention to it. If I send someone to Al after giving them a newsletter they understand that he knows his stuff. 


3. Stay on topic. You know what I love about Al's newsletter? It's about real estate. Not cookie recipes, or crafts for the kids or trivia. Al talks about things that are relevant to real estate. In his July newsletter he covers the gulf oil spill and provides links to related web sites. That's relavent to those of us who live here and it's relevant to potential buyers and sellers. It doesn't have to be all facts and figures, but it does need to be relevant. Nothing against cookie recipes, but I know where to find those when I want them.


4. Give your opinion. Al knows infinitely more about real estate than I do. His opinion matters to me, and I know that when I read his newsletter he is going to make some predictions about things like inventory levels and price trends. I appreciate that Al is willing to offer his professional opinion because if I hire him that is exactly what I am paying for. The fact that he will share it with me beforehand builds trust.


5. Reward your readers. I love that Al tells newsletter readers about featured properties BEFORE he has put them in the MLS. Chances are most readers won't call to inquire, but all of us feel like we are on the inside track. We feel special. We feel like Al is sharing stuff with us that the general public doesn't get. It's genius for building community and relationships.

If you publish your own newsletter see how well it stacks up against Al's. If you consume newsletters and you come across one as good as Al's do the author a favor and drop a note expressing your appreciation.