Definition of a Good Referral

"A Referral is an opportunity to do business with someone in the market to buy your product or service."

It is not a guaranteed sale, but an opportunity to discuss the possibility of doing business.

In BNI we are all about Referrals and Lead is considered a four letter word.  What most people sign up for is to give and receive qualified referrals, not leads.

What is the difference in a Referral and Lead?  

- A Lead - The prospect is not expecting a call and it's really not much better than a cold call.
- A Referral - You've been given the prospect's contact information.  The prospect knows who you are and what you do.  The prospect has talked to your mutual acquaintance and is generally expecting your call.  They know you'll be calling and they know what the topic will be.

There are three people involved in a referral - 

-  Referer or the Qualifier - This is the member who is giving the referral.  The member who is asking the questions to qualify the referral.
- The Receiver - Is the member who will be receiving the referral and is expecting the referral to be qualified.
- The Referral - The person is wanting/needing the product or service.

There are Three Key Ingredients of a Quality Referral - 

1. You talked to the prospect about your fellow BNI Member
     - Bonus - You gave a testimonial about your fellow BNI Member.
2. You asked permission for the BNI Member to call/contact the prospect
     - You gave them the BNI Member's card/contact information
3. You gave ALL the pertinent information, i.e. Name, phone number, email, details of the referral, and level of interest to your fellow BNI Member.
     - via BNIConnect in a timely manner.

Anything short of the description above, send an email to your fellow BNI member and tell them that you passed their card or information to someone (give their name) and if they contact them, to please let you know so you can turn it in as a true referral.

Remember the philosophy of BNI is Givers Gain.  You receive what you give.  By giving quality referrals, you will receive quality referrals.

So what do you do if you get what you consider to be a bad referral?  Read the blog post - 'What to do when you get a bad referral.'

Let me know if you have any questions and how I can be of help.  

To Your Success,