MJ Durkin is one of the most respected coaches on sales techniques in the United States, having many specialties, including how to ask for referrals. He spends most of his time these days traveling to corporate sales events, which include many network marketing companies, training their sales forces on the finer points of finding and closing deals. We all know how effective marketing is for any product or service. Getting the product and company names to become household words are extremely important for repeat business. Just look at all of the McDonald’s and Budweiser ads that you see every single day, and they are probably the best known fast food and alcohol suppliers in the country, if not the world. Yet, for both of them the day-to-day marketing is what keeps them on top of the industry.
Entrepreneurs are not in the position to do that kind of ad campaign, however. The cost is astronomical, although for the big guys, so is the return. Small entrepreneurs need another angle, an edge.

This is where MJ Durkin’s tips on how to ask for referrals becomes extremely valuable. The biggest source of new customers is from satisfied customers that you already have in your business. Why? Because they will tell their friends if they are happy about something, and when they refer something to their friends there is a certain level of trust that already exists to overcome the initial barrier of disbelief that a new potential customer puts up immediately. No one really wants to be sold something, but they all are ready to buy something if it fits their immediate needs and budget. Most times, they don’t know it yet, but they are waiting for the right things to come along, then they take action. So why not ask for referrals?

Where to start…

MJ Durkin’s tips on how to ask for referrals begins with learning the proper approach to asking for the closely guarded secret information of friends’ contact info. Most people do not want their friends to think that they have ‘betrayed’ them by giving a sales person their contact info. What is interesting about that is that they are usually very pleased with the results of their use of the product or service, yet they are not ready to share that information yet. Therefore, the key to getting this gold from the mine is in the presentation. The magic in how to ask for referrals, according to MJ Durkin, is in the asking.

How NOT to Ask for Referrals

If you approach a valued customer by simply asking them, “You have enjoyed this product and have had great results, correct?” They will answer “yes”. Then, you ask them, “Can you give me the names and numbers of anyone who you think would enjoy this as well?” Usually, you will get, “I may know some people. Give me a stack of your cards and I will give them out to my friends.” Then, you will end up waiting for the phone to ring, and waiting, and waiting.

MJ Durkin’s Tips on How to Ask for Referrals

The proper way, according to MJ Durkin, to ask for referrals is to layout a description of the type of person that you are looking for, the profile of the ideal customer, which will help your valued customer understand who you are looking for. It will turn out that most people want to share their experience and you may find that they will think of someone who fits the profile on the spot. You want to help lead your customers to the people that they know who are filed away in their database, rather than waiting for them to decide who they might want to ‘betray’. It’s not always like this, but you will be surprised by the amount of referrals you get when you ask for referrals after simply changing your approach; qualified and open people who will already have part of that distrust barrier removed simply by the referral process.
From the office of Drew Berman, contributed by Seth Lefferts. Seth Lefferts is an entrepreneur, consultant and business owner. He has spent many years in the corporate environment and has discovered that there is a way out. He is now teaching how to utilize the skillset that it takes to break free and become your own boss, and how to realize your dreams. Learn more at www.DareToDreamNow.Us.

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Finally, if you’re interested in more in-depth detail about how to ask for referrals from MJ Durkin himself, he and I (Drew) will be conducting a not-to-be-missed training for Sales Super Stars, Network Marketers, Entrepreneurs, and other High Performance Professionals on October 25th, 2011 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Tarrrytown, NY. (see the Red Hot Alert on my homepage for details)!