by Tony Vidler 
Being a firm believer that Word-Of-Mouth marketing is THE most effective form there is, I do bang on about being referable and engaging with the target market…but…
REALITY CHECK: Some people just never feel comfortable giving referrals.
In fact there IS a good chance that you will jeopardise your existing business relationship by pushing for referrals (even if the pushing is only “ever-so-gentle nudging”).
For many professionals the safest course of action is to simply not ask. Not even gently…the thinking being that one is better to keep a happy client, and maybe one day they will provide a referral, right?
Well there is a way that is somewhat more gentle than even “ever-so-gentle-nudging”…don’t ask for a referral. Ask for a recommendation instead.
We aren’t playing at semantics here, as a recommendation is an entirely different thing to a referral. A recommendation is something that the majority of satisfied customers are comfortable talking about. They may not all provide it, but they are pretty much all very comfortable to at least discuss it. So if you are a little uncomfortable sometimes with referrals, then no problem! There is another way…
In this weeks quick video we discuss the difference between referrals and recommendations, and how you can go about raising it professionally, and without pressure…
…watch the video to learn more…
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