Are you getting a reliable stream of referrals from your networking?
No?
Well, to be honest, a lot of people share this frustration.
You go out to plenty of networking events, have follow-up conversations and usually start to have some luck building connections. You might even have picked up a few bits of business from it.
But it all feels a bit random and ad hoc.
So, how do you get from the ‘nice surprise’ referrals to something more sustainable that really supports the growth of your business?
The answer is that there are a few crucial ingredients that will support the quality of your networking and help you get to that ‘reliable referrals Nirvana’.
And you’ll be pleased to know, it’s not about networking more – it’s about networking smarter.
Article Summary
Reliable referrals from networking come from building strong, trusted relationships with the right people. To get more consistent referrals, focus on networking with potential customers and people who can connect you with them, be clear about who you help, demonstrate your expertise and reliability, and have regular conversations beyond networking events. The goal isn’t to network more, but to become someone people feel confident recommending.
Networking Is a Marketing Activity
Let’s get something straight first of all.
One of the biggest mistakes I see business owners make is that they separate their networking from their other marketing activities.
Think about your email marketing.
You wouldn’t create an email campaign and send it to a completely different group of people every week. You’d identify the people you want to reach, communicate with them consistently, demonstrate your expertise and gradually build familiarity and trust.
Eventually, some of those people might buy from you. Others might recommend you to someone else.
Networking works in much the same way.
If you’re constantly jumping from one networking event to another, meeting a completely different group of people every time, you’re making it much harder for those relationships to develop.
Reliable referrals come from reliable relationships – and relationships need nurturing.
Why Am I Not Getting Reliable Referrals from Networking?
If you’re not seeing consistency in your networking results, then there are a few areas that you might like to examine.
- You might be networking with the wrong people.
- The way you pitch your business might not be clear to the people you are networking with.
- Your connections don’t know you well enough.
- You haven’t demonstrated your credibility – i.e. your expertise.
- You haven’t demonstrated your reliability – i.e. you do what you say you’re going to do.
- You’re not having enough deeper conversations away from the networking meeting itself.
- Essentially… are you doing enough to get beyond people ‘knowing’ and ‘liking’ you?
If your connections aren’t 100% sure about you, then they are not going to risk their reputation recommending you to their trusted contacts.
So, take a step back and ask yourself:
“Have I proved myself to be trustworthy with the people I need to recommend me?”
Find the Right People to Network With
A great place to start is to have a proper look at where you are spending your time and who you’re spending it with.
You’ve only got a finite amount of time to spend on networking, so you need to make sure that it is serving you.
Are the people you’re connecting with:
- Potential customers?
- People who know or regularly come in contact with your potential customers?
- Businesses that have a common target audience to you, who can naturally share opportunities with you?
- Complementary or synergistic businesses – for example, an estate agent and a mortgage broker, or a website designer and a copywriter?
And, another really important element to bear in mind:
- Are they ‘your kind of people’?
- Do they share your value system and/or work ethic?
- Do they feel like your professional tribe?
This is actually more important than you think.
It doesn’t matter how synergistic a business is with yours. If you don’t naturally work well together, or you don’t resonate with each other’s way of ‘doing’ business, the relationship isn’t going to create consistent, enjoyable opportunities.
I always love seeing how referral relationships come together. It’s not always the obvious synergies that work well either.
At The Growth Community all of our members have a shared value system and this means that we naturally work well together regardless of what we actually do. It also means that we know more people like us too. So, a good referral partnership can just be two like minded people who have access to each other’s target audiences.
Make Sure People Understand the Referrals You’re Looking For
So, once you’ve found the right kind of people to hang out with, you need to make sure that your messaging is clear.
If you’re not introducing yourself effectively, then you aren’t going to attract further conversations with the right people.
At this early part of the journey, your connections only need to understand:
- what it is that you do to help people
- the pain points you solve
- the kinds of people you help
- and how you uniquely give your customers an excellent experience.
If the people you’re networking with don’t fully comprehend the value you offer and the kinds of people you help, then you’re not going to get very far down the road of developing a relationship.
The best way I’ve found to do this is to tell stories.
Talk about the problems your customers are facing and how they can save money, feel relieved, accomplished or organised from having received your product or service.
I recently helped a member with their pitch. They found it difficult to explain a complex service and they were frustrated that they weren’t getting as many onward conversations as they’d like.
I helped them to come up with a one liner that explained succinctly how they helped their customers. Then we explored three or four ‘stories’ about the kind of people they worked with, their problems and how they helped solve those issues that they could use in their networking introductions. Overnight, they could see people’s comprehension which led to more requests for 121 meetings and better quality conversations.
An important thing to note…
Until trust is developed, your connections are not interested in the lower-level detail of your business.
At this point, they need to know you are good at what you do and that you are a reliable person before you get to the high-quality recommendations.
Consistent Referrals Require Quality Relationships
Relationships require time and nurture.
You can’t rush them. There’s no app to get you there quicker.
So, bumping into people randomly at networking events isn’t going to get you over the line anytime soon. You need to have conversations outside of the event. Learn more about each other and your aspirations.
I often suggest to members of The Growth Community that they find ways to enjoy meeting up that are less formal. Car share to another event, walk around an expo together, go out for a walk – simply find ways to just ‘chat’ as humans.
In the small business world, humans buy from humans. Humans help humans. So, it makes sense that we start with the human.
Really get to know them, do something to help them and you’ll create something far more sustainable and valuable than just a ‘transactional’ agreement.
We’ve all seen the equation KNOW – LIKE – TRUST.
That process has to be followed, and you’ll likely get through it at different speeds with different people. Some people just ‘click’, while others take a bit longer to find the sweet spot.
If you do this bit right, and then add in proof that you’re good at what you do and do what you say you’re going to do, then you’ll arrive at Trust.
And that’s when referrals can start to become more reliable.
Demonstrating Your Credibility Builds Your Reputation
Would you recommend someone if you weren’t sure they were good enough for the job?
Of course not.
So, do your networking connections actually know you are good at what you do? How are you communicating this?
There are many ways you can support this process.
Testimonials are an easy way of sharing real client feedback.
Talking about and demonstrating what you know – using any opportunity you can to show you know your industry. Share practical advice and knowledge.
A great way to use this to forge a relationship is to do some shared marketing opportunities, like a guest blog, social media post or appearing on their podcast.
There are always lots of opportunities in the networking environment for you to demonstrate your knowledge, and this will really support you on the road to trustworthiness.
Demonstrating Your Reliability Builds Confidence
When we make a referral or recommendation, we put our reputation on the line.
We are saying, ‘This person is good and they can help you.’
If they subsequently don’t deliver, it has a really big impact on the trust people place in us. Our reputations are affected.
Providing evidence that you are reliable and consistent is therefore essential if you want to get sustainable referrals from your connections.
There are a number of ways you can do that in the networking environment, such as:
- showing up regularly to events
- following up when you say you’re going to
- making introductions or passing on information when you’ve promised to do it
- looking after the people you’ve been introduced to
Essentially, do what you said you would.
And even more importantly, if you can’t deliver as planned – communicate.
We’re all human. Nobody is perfect. Life gets in the way sometimes. But an apology, an explanation and a new plan goes a very long way to avoiding reputational damage.
Showcase yourself as the person who gets stuff done and helps other people.
I guarantee people will want to reciprocate.
I had a conversation with a business owner who was frustrated that business had been passed elsewhere in their group when they were the obvious expert on that service. We drilled down into various elements and it became obvious that although people really knew and liked this business owner and they knew he was really good at what he did, his timekeeping and attendance had become erratic and people thought he was too busy to take on more work. So, they chose to send the referral to someone else who they felt would be more reliable at that moment in time.
So, it’s a great exercise to regularly stand back and see what others can see about you.
Don’t Focus on Volume if You Want Consistent Referrals
I think you’ll agree. Good quality and sustainable results from networking do not come from high volume.
It’s about identifying a few ‘right’ people, nurturing relationships with them and ensuring that everyone knows exactly how they can help each other achieve their goals.
You’ll probably only be able to do this with a relatively small number of people at a time.
To begin with, aim small with one or two quality relationships.
Start by taking a good look at your connections.
Who already ticks the Trust box?
If there’s nobody there yet, what do you need to do to get there?
How do you think you look to them? What do you need to do to tick the Trust box with them?
Who would you like to move up the scale?
All of these steps start with a conversation.
Book a 121, have coffee, do some informal stuff, get to know each other properly. Demonstrate your reliability and credibility.
That’s when you graduate to the next phase of your relationship.
If you are in the fortunate position to already have some connections that tick the Trust box in both directions, then you can start moving the conversations towards a more reliable flow of referrals.
Learn more about what they are wanting to achieve and work out how you are going to work together to make that happen.
And then KEEP DOING THIS!
Reliable Referrals Come from Deeper, Regular Conversations
As I said at the beginning:
Reliable referrals come from reliable relationships. Reliable relationships come from reliable, proactive conversations.
If you want consistent results from your networking, then you need to show up consistently and have deeper and more comprehensive conversations with the people you want to recommend you.
Learn the detail. Share what you are working on. Understand how to refer them. Find out how to approach the people you want to talk to.
And most importantly…
Be consistent.
Plan in your regular conversations so you are committed to them. That’s how you make your flow of referrals more reliable.
Don’t leave it to chance. You make your own luck!
Consistency Also Requires Reciprocity
Reciprocity.
Nobody can actually say it… but it’s crucial!
You can’t expect people to reliably send you loads of good stuff if you don’t do the same for them.
So, make sure this is a two-way street.
Networking isn’t about finding people who will send you referrals. It’s about building relationships where you genuinely want to help each other.
From Ad Hoc to Reliable Referrals
It’s fair to say that the road to sustainable results from your networking is simple, not easy.
There is work to do.
But honestly, do the work once, take care of it, and that tap will never switch off.
I’ve said it a thousand times before and I’ll say it again. Networking is one of the most cost-effective and sustainable ways for small businesses to grow. And if you do it with the right people… it’s also one of the most enjoyable.
If you’re not getting reliable referrals, then start by taking a step back and being really self-reflective.
Do you think you’ve done enough to make yourself look like a good bet?
Are you actually referrable?
What can you do to improve your opportunities?
Do stuff consistently.
Look around at your connections.
Are you networking in the right places with the right people?
Who can you develop into proactive, trusted contacts?
Find your professional tribe.
Then have regular and quality conversations with this subset and start enjoying reliable, ‘expected’ referrals from your networking time, rather than just hanging around for a ‘surprise’ recommendation to hit your inbox.
Your Reliable Referrals Checklist
Ready to make your referrals more regular?
Here’s a practical checklist to help you identify what you’re going to work on first.
Targeting
- Am I networking where my ideal customers/referrers are?
- Or where the people who know my ideal customers are?
Consistency
- Am I regularly seeing the same people?
- Am I giving relationships enough time to develop?
Clarity
- Could someone explain who I help and what I help them with?
- Have I accurately shared what a good referral looks like?
Credibility
- Have people seen evidence of my expertise?
- Do they know I deliver an excellent customer experience?
Reliability
- Do I do what I say I’m going to do?
- Would someone feel comfortable putting their reputation behind me?
Relationships
- Am I helping people?
- Am I having conversations outside the networking meeting?
Visibility
- Do people know what I’m currently trying to achieve?
- Do I regularly remind them how they can help?
Frequently Asked Questions About Getting Referrals From Networking
How do I get more referrals from networking?
Start by making sure you are networking with the right people and consistently building relationships with them. Be clear about who you help, demonstrate your credibility and reliability, and invest time in conversations beyond the networking meeting itself.
Why am I not getting referrals from networking?
There could be several reasons. You may be networking with the wrong people, your contacts may not understand exactly who you help, or you may not have built enough trust for them to feel comfortable recommending you. Consistency, credibility, reliability and deeper relationships all play a part.
How long does it take to get referrals from networking?
There isn’t a fixed timescale. Some relationships develop quickly, while others take much longer. The important thing is not to expect referrals before you’ve given people enough opportunity to know you, understand what you do, see that you’re good at it and trust you to deliver.
How do I build a referral network?
Rather than trying to collect as many contacts as possible, focus on developing a smaller number of genuine relationships with people who share your target audience, complement what you do and share your values and approach to business. Over time, those relationships can develop into a reliable source of referrals.
What makes someone referable?
Being good at what you do is only part of it. People are more likely to recommend someone when they understand what they do, trust them to deliver, know they will look after the person being referred and feel confident that the recommendation won’t damage their own reputation.
Can networking really generate consistent business?
Yes – but consistency doesn’t come from simply attending more networking events. It comes from being purposeful about where you network, who you build relationships with and how consistently you nurture those relationships. The stronger the relationships, the more naturally opportunities and referrals can develop.
Further Resources
Watch a video on this topic on our YouTube Channel:
Why not have a read of some of our other blogs in our library.
Ten tips for getting more from attending an expo
Identify the right networking format for you
Decide if networking groups are worth the effort
How to get the most out of your 121s
Ways you can build trust with your connections
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