A Proven Formula For Supercharging Your Referral-Generation
By Eric Ruth
It’s shocking and disturbing when I hear fitness professionals tell me they’ve invested serious resources: time, effort and money, in the creation of a logo, brochure or advertisement, but haven’t given a lick of thought to how they will design, implement and systemize the most productive, powerful and inexpensive business-building strategy there is..... Referral Generation.
Marketing expert Jay Abraham says, " A referral-generated client normally spends more money, buys more often, and is more profitable and loyal than any other category of business you could go after. And referrals are easy to get. Referrals beget referrals. They are self-perpetuating."
The common misconception is that referrals must come from satisfied clients, when in fact, that’s just one of many sources for referrals. Essentially, anyone who knows you or knows of you is a prime candidate to refer to you. To tap into and leverage the vast networks of your clients, friends and associates, all you’ve got to do is show them how to refer to you.
That’s the first ‘trick’ to getting referrals: educating potential referrers about how to do it. The second trick is systemizing the process so referrals flow to you on a consistent, automatic basis.
The goal for every fitness professional should be a 70%-80% referral-driven business. If you follow the formula presented here, and take advantage of the valuable resource I will provide, you will be well on your way to achieving that goal.
You may be getting a nice bit of your new business from direct or indirect (word of mouth) referrals right now, but I’ll bet you’ve never systemized the process so referrals are coming to you on autopilot, day-after-day, week-after-week, with little effort on your part.
We’re going to change that right now, because referrals should never be left to chance. And because the systemization or your referral generation can result in substantial, measurable and bankable increases in clients and profits – almost instantly.
Here’s a proven formula for supercharging your referral-generation:
#1: You must EARN the referral: Internally (with present or past clients) that generally equates to delivering results, but not always. Showing you care, going the extra mile, continually educating, supporting and reminding your clients, always reminding them, how your products and services add value and make a difference in their lives, sets up the desire to reciprocate. Externally (with those who are not clients), earning referrals is accomplished by educating potential referrers about you, your credentials, your services, your successes and how you have a unique solution to a particular problem(s).
#2: You must ASK for the referral: This is called " programming," and it can and should be a fully automated, hands-off process through the use of systems (a duplicable process that is proven to work). Nobody wants to badger or beg clients, friends and associates for referrals, and there is simply no need to do so when you implement systems. The main reasons you are not getting more referrals are that you are not consistently programming people to refer; people don’t know, specifically, who to refer to you; and people don’t know how, specifically, to refer to you. Simply showing people how to refer, and programming them to do so, will double or triple your referrals almost overnight.
#3: You must RECOGNIZE and REWARD for referrals: You must recognize the individual who refers and immediately reward him or her for the referral. This type of conditioning reinforces the behavior you want (think Pavlov’s dogs). Recognition can be something as simple as a thank you card or phone call. Reward could be in the form of reciprocity (referring back to the referrer if it’s an external source), monetary compensation (if that’s appropriate), additional services (for an internal source), or giving a small, personalized gift.
This is the E.A.R. formula: Earn-Ask-Recognize and Reward, and it’s the framework for the effective acquisition of referrals. But to jumpstart the process and ensure consistent, reliable and automatic referral-generation you need to implement referral systems within this framework. I don’t have enough space in this article to describe the specific systems to you, so I encourage you to get this valuable free resource: 17 Fitness Referral Systems You Can Use Now. This compilation of proven systems allows you to pick and choose three or four that most appeal to you and roll them out for an immediate increase in clients and profits.
For more marketing information, complete with ready-to-use marketing tools, check out The Ultimate Personal Trainer Marketing Program.
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