9 Ways to Use a Give-to-Get Strategy to Nurture Referrals

Many financial professionals take the concept of referrals as a given. They ask for them but rarely send any in return. As industry professionals, they feel they are doing the accountant or lawyer a favor by helping their clients. They're making the other professionals look good. To encourage referrals, you need to be good at giving them, often without expecting anything in return. Here's the logic to consider: The person in a position to refer likely has more than one insurance professional's name stored under Contacts in their smartphone. Once they refer their client or friend, they lose control of the situation. What if the person they refer is dissatisfied? Will they lose their client because of what you've done? Like Jim Phelps in "Mission Impossible," they're looking through photos and making their selection of who to bring onto their team for this mission. One of the best ways to increase the flow of referrals is to be someone who sends them out yourself. Word will get around. The word might not be that you are a referral sender, but that you are a problem solver. That's much better. For a look at some situations where you might be the one sending referrals out, see the gallery. Credit: Adobe Stock