Don’t Ask for a Referral Until You Do This…
When we ask for feedback, we get valuable information. Information about why people have come to us and what we have helped them accomplish. We learn about their experience, not what we assume we’ve given them. We are getting the client to vocalize (and personally affirm out loud) that working with us has been valuable to them. Sometimes we might even learn that a client didn’t receive the experience they anticipated. When we ask for feedback, we have an opportunity to come from a position of humility. To listen, to hear and to understand. We get an opportunity to perhaps even restore an experience that didn’t meet or exceed expectations. To make things right! Feedback provides a great foundation to build your business and referral process on.
Speaking candidly, almost all the advisors I work with do or have struggled with asking for referrals. It can feel ‘salesly’. It can feel sneaky and demanding. To be fair, referral asking is often taught caveman style – give me 3 names of people you know…or using language that nobody you know would ever use. We will worry about the language and the big ask after we’ve mastered asking for feedback.
If you struggle with asking for referrals, I’d challenge you to start simple and small – start asking for feedback. See what happens. I’ll spare you the dirty details, but I was modeling this very sequence of feedback asking and referral asking to a client several years ago. I asked her to respond honestly. I got her vocal ‘yes’ that she was willing to answer honestly and provide me with feedback. I asked in a simple rating scale of 1-5 for specific elements of our engagement and then I invited her to share why she scored things the way she did. Wouldn’t you know it…she scored several of the things I asked her as a 2!!!! Now, had I asked that client for a referral before knowing if she was satisfied or dissatisfied with our engagement…YIKES. In my opinion, when we ask for a referral without asking for feedback we come to our client from a place of pride – assuming they’re a raving fan and their experience is worth sharing with others.
You might have raving fans, but without feedback can you really be certain you know what they’re raving about. Maybe they’re raving because you are always on call for them. Maybe they’re raving because they feel financially secure because of your support. Or maybe they’re raving because they think you’re a fun person! All of those things will yield very different referrals for your practice.
Some quick tips around asking for feedback:
Before asking for feedback, be sure you’re ready to hear and listen to what is being said.
Ask for feedback from people whose feedback you value. I said what I said.
Get the clients permission to ask them for feedback. Get their agreement that they feel comfortable sharing their honest review.
Set up feedback from day 1! Your prospects should know that working with you will include giving their feedback.
Be prepared with questions for feedback that don’t just elicit ‘yes or no’ responses.
Find a feedback process that you can commit to (phone call, in-person meeting, online survey). The top choice would always be zoom/face-to-face, but start simple if that feels like too much!
So, before you ask for a referral – ask for feedback!
The next time you hear from me, you’ll be hearing potential questions you can use in your feedback process.