The single greatest complaint I get from small business owners when it
comes to referral marketing is that they don’t seem to get the kinds of
referrals they want or prefer. (You know, the A clients, as opposed to
what I call Deferrals)

I think the reason for this is pretty simple and, in fact, is at the heart of
most of your marketing woes.

To get the referrals you really want or, using the phrase that fellow
blogger Bill Doerr lent me, PREFERRALS, you must be able to clearly and
without hesitation define the precise type of person or business that
you want by way of referral.

When you can tell a referral network member that you are looking for
professional services business owners with over 20 employees who
understand and appreciate the need to hire outside professionals, and
who already have a 401(k) in place…what kind of referral do you think
you will get?

Or better yet, tailor a list of about 20 actual prospects and plop that list
down in front of a referral network source and say, “who on this list can
you refer me to?” Then, they get it or they don’t…but, either way, no
more Deferrals for you. (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself)

Ask enough of the right people, tell them your preferred client and you will
have a steady stream of referrals.

As always, you can find out more about this crazy thing called referral
marketing at ReferralFlood.com