To The Next Level
A Good Referral: Why Wait?

Twenty-seven referrals within two hours: It sounds astonishing. How can anyone possibly get that many referrals in so short a time? And even if it's possible, surely they are leads rather than warmed-up referrals, right?

But it is possible! Ian Denny, a member of Alpha Chapter in Liverpool, United Kingdom, tells us how easy it is. Since 2000, his company Multisolutions has generated in excess of £735,000 of business directly from his fellow BNI members. And along the way, he's helped many BNI members thrive by passing multiple referrals. In one case he referred one member 27 times—in one sitting!

He shares how he did it without having to endure multiple awkward cold call conversations—which absorbs all your time. Ian writes: "I had a positive experience with a fellow BNI member, Jayne Smith of Document Direct, and wanted to refer her to as many people as possible. Jayne runs a team of virtual typists who transcribe dictated work for busy people. I was able to email Jayne a voice file, and within 12 minutes, I had it back as a beautifully transcribed and formatted Word document!

"Instead of mentioning it to a few people over the next few weeks and months and giving Jayne the odd referral, I decided to immediately share the experience with people I knew." (Note: BNI only endorses sending testimonials to people you know well, never to strangers or mere acquaintances.)

In an email to all his contact, Ian wrote about Jayne's great service and told them he would be meeting Jayne for coffee in a couple of days. If they wanted to learn more about her service, they should let him know. In the spirit of Givers Gain, he made it clear he was not being paid to say this; he only wanted others to experience similar great service.

Guess what? Twenty-seven people responded.

Lessons Learned
We all share positive experiences, but it can take time to tell everyone you know. And after a while, the initial joy can diminish and you can lose momentum in telling others. So if you use the services of a fellow member and would recommend them, why not do it immediately?

Four weeks after receiving those referrals, Jayne reported back:

"From the 27 referrals, I was able to book 10 appointments immediately. Those who didn't want an appointment asked for more info by email—so there is the possibility of a future sale with some. So far I have managed to convert 50% of my appointments to a sale, which I estimate to be worth 30,000 pounds of business this year."

Ian offers five quick tips on sharing a good experience to help generate referrals:

1) Tell it as it is. Explain the situation you were faced with and how this experience benefited you. And email it—you can reach more people quickly. When you have had a great experience, strike while the mood is with you. Don't let it diminish over time, or forget to recommend because time has lapsed since the experience.
2) Address your email personally. In your salutation, use the person's first name. Use an email merge if you know how. (If you don't, visit our website and contact me. I'll send a full overview of how to do this.)
3) A referral has to be an agreement from someone you know to receive a phone call from the person you are recommending. Mention that you are seeing the person you are recommending within the next week, and that if they reply "yes," you will pass on their contact details and ask them to call.
4) Be conversational. Do not write formally! You are referring someone you know to others that you know. So keep it light and friendly.
5) Make it clear that the only reason you are doing this is because you are delighted with the product or service you received—NOT because you receive a penny for doing so.

So, go on, make a recommendation while the service experience is fresh—and enjoy helping a fellow BNI member thrive.

Ian Denny is a Director for Multisolutions. Jayne Smith is Head of Operations for Document Direct.