Referral Based Lead Generation

I recently had the opportunity to attend a Buffini & Company webinar regarding referral based lead generation.  If you're not familiar with Buffini, they are the nation's largest coaching organization founded on the referral based lead generation strategies of Brian Buffini.  Their strongest niche is real estate professionals and here's an interesting statistic: Buffini-coached realtors earn, on average, 7 times more than non-Buffini realtors.  Wow.

Here's the good news: I didn't learn anything in the webinar that I didn't already know.  Meaning, there's not some hidden secret out there about how to be effective generating referrals.  In this instance, most of us know what we need to do - but it is the consistent, constant and systematic application of effort in this area where most fall short.

We also tend to give up too easily.  One of the most compelling statistics the Buffini coach shared was that 80% of all sales happen between the 5th and 12th contacts with prospects.  But most people will stop initiating contact after only 2-3 attempts (where only 5% of sales happen).  Lesson: build your marketing campaigns, follow up strategies and referral plans with the intent of making 12 contacts.

The third mistake we often make is buying into the myth that if we simply provide good service, people will refer us.  Of course, some will.  But typically not enough for you to sit back and have an adequate lead pipeline.  Point: you must ASK for the referral, and the more specific you can make your request, the better.

My favorite line from the webinar that summarizes the most important part of effective referral based lead generation: "A portion of every day should be dedicated to generating referrals on purpose."