Here’s a powerful referral ready business lesson you can learn from a Mob Movie...
Ignore it and your business is likely to take a hit.
Have you ever seen Donnie Brasco?
Because, I'm going to share a lesson a I learned watching it that will help you get more top tier clients and grow your business.
Whether you are 'a friend of mine' or 'a friend of ours' this lesson is critical if you want to maximize your referrals.
I'll explain what I mean in just a minute...
But first, I want to check to make sure your business is actually referral ready.
Is Your Business REFERRAL READY?
I have four questions to see if you qualify...
1. Regardless of price, are you committed to giving your clients the highest possible value… More benefits… Better service… A better outcome by using your business than they would using anyone else in your market?
2. Do you honestly feel like you care more deeply about your clients that anyone else in your market?
3. If you don’t feel like you have the absolute best solution for their problem will you help them find the absolute best solution?
4. If you accidentally fail or screw up… Will you do whatever is in your power to make it right again? And if you can’t make it right… What will you do then?
Because if any of the above are not true… If you will not do whatever it takes, you don’t deserve anyone’s referrals. And Donnie Brasco is proof!
Here's what I mean...
A Friend of Mine -&- A Friend of Ours
So, what’s the difference between ‘a friend of mine’ and ‘a friend of ours’ and what in the heck does it have to do with your business being referral ready?
If you have ever seen the movie Donnie Brasco you might remember, if you haven’t I’ll explain it.
There’s a scene where ‘Lefty’ (Al Pachino) is telling Donnie (Johnny Depp)
“When I introduce you, I'm gonna say, 'This is a friend of mine.' That means you're a connected guy. Now if I said instead, 'this is a friend of ours', that would mean you’re a made guy. Capiche?”
Connected guy… Made guy…
What the hell does this have to do with referrals?
I’m glad you asked.
No matter how ‘Lefty’ introduced Donnie… He was vouching for him. In other words he was saying you can trust this guy because I trust this guy.
He was also saying… ‘If this guy lets you down for any reason… I accept full responsibility.
Because this was a mafia movie, responsibility means if he screws up… ‘Lefty' gets whacked… killed… cement boots.
Now, it is not very likely that you will get whacked over a referral gone wrong…
But if you don’t understand the full implications of not being referral ready… your business could take a hit.
Okay, I think that’s enough mafia terminology… (if there is such a thing).
A Referral Ready Business Is Trustworthy...
When someone refers to you they are vouching for you. In other words they are lending you a piece of trust. Let me explain…
The reason a referral is so powerful is because when someone you trust says “You can trust these guys.”, their trust is transferred to ‘these guys’. ‘These guys’ are borrowing a piece of the trust you have with this other person.
Now I don’t know about you… but when someone lends me something valuable I take better care of it than I would if I owned it.
I like to think of it like this...
Referrals must be treated like a 300 year old, family heirloom Christmas ornament made of glass. It is a beautiful thing. You should enjoy it, and cherish it.
But whatever you do, don’t drop it!
If you drop the ball, you cannot possibly apologize enough to put the shattered pieces together again.
If that sounds a bit extreme… good.
Because if you think about it, the gift of trust demands a lot of you.
Understanding that, is a big part of the referral ready mindset.
Because A referral is a gift.
Think about it.
Your client already paid you for the service you rendered. You’re even.
But now they introduce you to a prospective buyer. At the very least they are paying you the cost of acquiring a lead.
The referral ready mindset says that you are honor bound to take care of the gift you were given.
When someone gives you something important of theirs… most people would agree, you should take better care of their stuff than you would your own stuff.
A referral is like letting you borrow something very important. Trust.
Because trust is a hell of a gift to receive… The referral ready mindset demands you be more than a seller of goods...
Even if those goods are great. Trust demands more.
You must be more… You must be a trusted adviser. As a trusted advisor you must have your best interest at top of mind.
If you believe your business is referral ready, here's 9 Ways To Get More Referrals
If you refer anyone to me…
I will treat them like they are my favorite grandma...
I will protect them and serve them at the highest level possible. I understand your referral for what it is.
You are lending me the trust this person has in you.
I am honor bound to cherish and nurture this trust.
When I give it back to you it will be better than when you lent it to me. What I mean by give it back is this…
When I am finished serving the person you recommended to me, I fully expect them to thank you for referring me. Why? Because I served them at such a high level, they will trust you even more going forward.
That’s how a referral ready mindset returns trust better than when it was lent out.
The referral ready mindset demands:
I will treat your referral so well that they will thank you for referring them to me. They will know that you must really care about them because how I will take care of them.
Failure is not an option… but if I do make a mistake I will be the first one to admit it and I will work tirelessly to make it better than new.
It demands that I honor your referral’s time…
Honor their energy and effort.
If I can’t help them, I will lead them to the resources they need to get the help they deserve.
I do this because the trust you lent me is that valuable to me.
Any cost of time or energy on my part is my gift to you for the gift of your trust.
take referrals seriously because they are the most valuable form of lead generation. I don’t have to pay to find the person, and they come much more ready-to-buy than any other type of lead.
If you are willing to adopt the Referral ready mindset, you will find people much more willing and able to send you as many ready-to-buy referrals as you can handle.
And you don't ever have to worry about someone's trust getting whacked. You don't have to worry about your business taking a hit.
Instead you can expect untouchable growth.
Referrals are typically the most profitable, and easy to work with clients you can add to your business.
If you want more referrals check out:
[ Referrals Required Workbook - Coming Soon]
There it is...
Everything you need to know about having referral ready business, from a mob movie.
A lesson learned from Mob Movie Donnie Brasco.