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By Colleen Francis

Referrals are the lifeblood of your staffing business. They are more powerful than any advertisement you might run because referrals are founded in trust and they convert to new business faster than any cold call. In fact Engage studies show that referred leads convert to new clients at a rate of 5:12 whereas cold calls convert at a rate of 25:1. Which closing ratio would you rather have?

Referrals are powerful because they create unequalled credibility from a trusted third party, a friend that's experienced the benefits of doing business with you. For example which do you believe more: what a friend says about the person being referred as opposed to you hearing a "corporate commercial" from a salesperson whose sole purpose is to make money from you?

Referrals have an innate value as they are given freely as a reward for the high quality of service rendered. As such, referrals are the most compelling sales advertisements on earth. I consider referrals and testimonials to be the number 1 selling tool in your agency's sales tool kit.

Research shows the how valuable referrals are - Paul and Sarah Edwards, authors of "Getting Business to Come to You" suggest that up to 45% of most service businesses are chosen by customers based on the recommendations of others. A Dun and Bradstreet survey uncovered that referrals are one of the two most popular marketing methods for any business to make sales, the other one is advertising. However, referrals consistently out-pulled advertising as to the quality and value of a new customer relationship.

Sadly, many agency owners and sales people assume that referrals will happen by themselves if you give good service and make great placements. This is a false assumption. If you are not deliberate and proactive in developing referrals, you will receive few, if any referrals.

Remember your best customers are ready and willing to give you referrals - You just need to show them how. Give them a blueprint on how they can help you.

So what's the secret to getting all the referrals you can handle? "Ask for them."

Here's The Good News - People Want to Give Your Referrals! All you need is a blueprint of how to ask for one correctly. Oddly enough... I happen to have one handy below!

Has someone ever asked you for a referral? If so, it probably sounded like this: "Hi Mary, do you know anyone who could benefit from my placement services?" Mary starts to ponder your question and eventually says, "Well, not off the top of my head, but I'll keep thinking about it."

In my research 97% of all referral questions are asked this way, and as a result, fail. Why? Because, you didn't ask the right question in the right way. The phrase "know anyone who…?" is too broad for people to think about and isolate a good referral for you.

Your clients need a specific frame of reference to help them narrow down the playing field of potential referral candidates. Imagine that you are talking to one of your customers who is pleased with the service you are delivering. You ask them, 'You're a member of the Board of Trade in Vancouver right? They respond, "Yes, I am.' You ask, 'Do you go to their meetings on a regular basis?' 'Yes, most of the time.' they reply. 'Is there anyone in your ACG Chapter that you believe could benefit our employee profiling services? Maybe one or two people you've known in the group who are Vice Presidents of HR?'

See the difference? You gave a narrow frame of reference from which to draw from. It allowed your client to SEE the potential referral candidate in their mind. This will limit the number of potential people they know, and that's great! It's far more effective for you to have one good referral than it is to have a flood of people that are not qualified or relevant client candidates.

By being specific with your referral request, your request will stay in your client's mind because they visualized your services with much greater intensity. Your request becomes, and stays, top of mind.

Referrals come from two primary sources - your current customers (people who have done business with you) and non-customers (prominent people, candidates and happy placed employees) within your target customer group. You should have an active referral system to secure business from both groups.

Your customers and happy preciously paced candidates could be the most enthusiastic about giving you referrals because they have experienced you, your agency and your recruitment service. But, when done right you can get referrals from non-customers and others in your network as well.

The secret is asking the right question.

Of course it goes without saying that saying "Thanks" when you get the referral is not only proper business etiquette but your ticket to getting more referrals. People love to feel appreciated, and when you show them appreciation for helping you they will reward you with endless qualified referrals.

In the next staffing article we'll specifically talk about how to say thanks in ways that increase your circles of influence and increase your referrals.

Colleen Francis, Sales Expert, is Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions (www.EngageSelling.com). Armed with skills developed from years of experience, Colleen helps clients realize immediate results, achieve lasting success and permanently raise their bottom line.

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