Don't be so polite!

10/2/08

Let’s be realistic, referrals can at times be hard to find and other than those referrals that you get from someone who asks you if you know a good whatever it may be, you have to work for them. Obviously once you are tuned into the idea of referrals it’s not hard work, but you still need to be actively switched into referral mode.

For most of us, this is something that has to be learned, and I can’t recommend highly enough the Referral Skill workshop. In fact I would almost go as far as saying that this workshop should be made compulsory, as a member's ability to pass referrals directly affects the success of my membership. Whereas their networking and presentation skills, on the other hand, only affects their likely hood of receiving referrals.

However, back to finding referrals. At the workshop you will be shown many ways of finding referrals, including some that require no work at all. Some of these ideas are what BNI like to call silent referral generation, and I have one that you may like to try.

All members are given a BNI business card wallet where they keep the cards of all the people in their chapter, so that when needed they have a member's card with them. Well, the first thing that I would suggest is that you have two or three of these wallets (you can buy them from your RD for a few pounds), and pass them around.

But this is my silent referral generator. Always have your BNI wallet on the passenger seat of your car (van) and the next time you give someone a lift, don’t be polite and pick it up and throw it on the back seat. Let your passenger pick it up. They will then wonder what they should do with it and that’s your opening!

You say something like, ‘Oh, sorry, that's my BNI folder. It's full of the business cards of people I know and trust and are great at their jobs. Would you like to have a look ? ....'