Please, Use My Name . . .
by CEO on January 28th, 2014
One of the core values of REO is to offer quality connections. Many people believe a good referral is when they’re given a person’s name and number with permission to use the referrer’s name. For example: Sue gives John the name and number of a woman in need of home repair after the recent storms; and Sue says: “It’s okay to use my name when you call her”. John now has one more contact than he had before… That’s good, right? Wrong!
Below, I relay a recent experience and why just giving someone a name and number is merely a lead, not a true referral – and how it can damage your networking reputation.
Here’s What Happened…
I got a call from Joe* (who tells me he got my name from Ava*). Now, I haven’t seen or heard from Ava in 3 or 4 years. Joe* tells me that Ava thinks so highly of me and values my opinion, and that I’d be… blah, blah, blah (you get the picture). I quickly realize that Ava gave my name because my value in her list is pretty low. I’m disposable. Remember, I haven’t had any contact with Ava in years. During our conversation, Joe tells me he’s a financial planner located about two hours from Knoxville. I really didn’t want to waste Joe’s time as I’m sure he had lots of calls to make. So, I told Joe I had no interest. He ignored that and continued, by trying to set up an appointment here in Knoxville.
The Tragedy of it All…
What’s pretty sad about this type of “referral/lead/cold-call” is that it’s a “Lose-Lose” situation for everyone. Ava’s made it pretty clear that she doesn’t value my connection much – my loss. Joe, however, has lost the most with this lead. 1) He lost valuable time on a cold-call he thought was a referral. 2) He’s also ready to lose a lot more time and money driving 2-plus hours to Knoxville to try to ‘sell’ me anyway. 3) He’s probably wondering why none of the so-called ‘referrals’ that Ava gave him aren’t panning out. So Ava’s losing credibility. Lastly, Ava’s value to me as a connection is also lost because our first “interaction” in years was a negative one. How different all this would have been had Ava just called to ask if it was a service I was interested in. In that case – everyone would have a win-win!
The Moral of the Story…
Just because you have a name, doesn’t mean it means anything. Qualifying a referral is the difference between a referral and a cold-call lead.
How to avoid this…
Call your contact ahead of time to ask if they need or want the services of the professional you’re about to refer. Confirm that it’s okay to give out their information. Let them know who will be calling and why. Also, let the person you’re referring to know why this referral is a good connection (“They need your services because…” or “They were just talking about wanting X,Y,Z product”, etc.)
The Win-Win…
If you call your contact – they think you’re a hero for respecting their time. You’re a hero for finding them someone that you’d personally refer. You’re the hero for not wasting anyone’s time. And you’re the hero on everyone’s part if it all comes together.
*The names have been changed.
by CEO on January 28th, 2014
One of the core values of REO is to offer quality connections. Many people believe a good referral is when they’re given a person’s name and number with permission to use the referrer’s name. For example: Sue gives John the name and number of a woman in need of home repair after the recent storms; and Sue says: “It’s okay to use my name when you call her”. John now has one more contact than he had before… That’s good, right? Wrong!
Below, I relay a recent experience and why just giving someone a name and number is merely a lead, not a true referral – and how it can damage your networking reputation.
Here’s What Happened…
I got a call from Joe* (who tells me he got my name from Ava*). Now, I haven’t seen or heard from Ava in 3 or 4 years. Joe* tells me that Ava thinks so highly of me and values my opinion, and that I’d be… blah, blah, blah (you get the picture). I quickly realize that Ava gave my name because my value in her list is pretty low. I’m disposable. Remember, I haven’t had any contact with Ava in years. During our conversation, Joe tells me he’s a financial planner located about two hours from Knoxville. I really didn’t want to waste Joe’s time as I’m sure he had lots of calls to make. So, I told Joe I had no interest. He ignored that and continued, by trying to set up an appointment here in Knoxville.
The Tragedy of it All…
What’s pretty sad about this type of “referral/lead/cold-call” is that it’s a “Lose-Lose” situation for everyone. Ava’s made it pretty clear that she doesn’t value my connection much – my loss. Joe, however, has lost the most with this lead. 1) He lost valuable time on a cold-call he thought was a referral. 2) He’s also ready to lose a lot more time and money driving 2-plus hours to Knoxville to try to ‘sell’ me anyway. 3) He’s probably wondering why none of the so-called ‘referrals’ that Ava gave him aren’t panning out. So Ava’s losing credibility. Lastly, Ava’s value to me as a connection is also lost because our first “interaction” in years was a negative one. How different all this would have been had Ava just called to ask if it was a service I was interested in. In that case – everyone would have a win-win!
The Moral of the Story…
Just because you have a name, doesn’t mean it means anything. Qualifying a referral is the difference between a referral and a cold-call lead.
How to avoid this…
Call your contact ahead of time to ask if they need or want the services of the professional you’re about to refer. Confirm that it’s okay to give out their information. Let them know who will be calling and why. Also, let the person you’re referring to know why this referral is a good connection (“They need your services because…” or “They were just talking about wanting X,Y,Z product”, etc.)
The Win-Win…
If you call your contact – they think you’re a hero for respecting their time. You’re a hero for finding them someone that you’d personally refer. You’re the hero for not wasting anyone’s time. And you’re the hero on everyone’s part if it all comes together.
*The names have been changed.
