Referral Marketing Is
The Most Productive And
Profitable Kind of Marketing

What motivates someone to give you referrals?

Here's a scenario I've seen more than once in small business. The offer goes something like this, "I'll pay $200 for every referral you send us." That seems like a great deal. But, when the referrals don't come pouring in, the small business owner is left wondering what's going on.

First of all, money is not the only way to motivate referrals. You should start with the understanding that most people actually love to help other people, and not just because someone offered to pay them money.

It's true that money can and often is a nice incentive, but it's not the only factor at play here. Consider that most people are likely just unaware of what makes a good referral for you. They might see what's in it for them (i.e., $200), but they don't understand what's in it for the referral. Uncertainty about what steps you plan to take and what you'll do with anyone they might refer tend to be more powerful de-motivators than the promise of $200.

Part of the process of motivating referrals is educating your referral sources. Put some time and energy into creating resources and materials to help your referral sources better understand the value you offer to potential clients. People do want to help, but they also want to look smart when they're recommending you to their friends and colleagues.

Be willing to share useful information that helps your target market begin to solve their problems, issues, and challenges. And here's a referral marketing secret. If that information is valuable for marketing to your target market, then it's just as valuable for marketing to your target referral sources.

When it comes to motivating referrals sources, start with understanding and then be creative. Find out what's important to your referral targets. What kinds of things are they looking for and what would be truly valuable and help them?

You might be surprised to find out that money is not on the top of some folks list. Be willing to help them make contacts, introduce them to resources, and provide them with some of your valuable information.

When it comes to looking at referral incentives, be creative. You could offer special pricing or extra bonuses for anyone who refers you. Maybe someone would be more motivated by your willingness to help a worthy cause by donating a portion of fees from clients acquired by referral. How about offering to help a colleague deepen their own business relationships by offering their business contacts a gift of your services?

They key is to explore and find out what's important to them. It could start out as simply as a conversation with a key business contact. Just ask them if they'd like to explore ways to help each other build and grow your businesses.

Don't just guess at what motivates referrals. Do some research first and then get creative.

For the ultimate resource on building your own referral marketing system, check out John Jantsch's Referral Flood It's a complete program including workbook and audios that takes you step-by-step through the process of creating your own Referral Flood.

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