Thomas Coles
Appearances
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
And the vast majority of people talk about the fact that they routinely have asked for referrals and given referrals in their personal lives, but they often have not been using it systematically in their professional lives.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
It's a difficult question to answer. My experience is that far too many businesses are, and far too many individuals in businesses, are embarrassed of asking for referrals, which is why I talk about that mindset shift needing to say, look, I run my business on referrals, therefore it stops being embarrassing and starts becoming just an absolutely routine thing. It needs to become a habit.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
People have to get into the Whereas quite often you hear of people who think they do need to be asking for referrals realising too late. Five minutes after they left the meeting rather than during the meeting.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
I think your point around the difference between personal life and professional life is largely that you would only ever ask a friend when you're looking for a new supplier of something, and therefore you've got a trusted relationship with them, trusting relationship with them.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
Whereas in professional life, not every individual working in an organization is going to say that they trust the people in their client or vice versa. That's the bit that you need to overcome, the mindset that you need to overcome.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
As long as you have a professional and some level of trust and relationship, then you can be asking many people that you come across and should be asking many people that you come across whether they can make, in effect, recommendations for you, but therefore give you a referral.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
I characterize it slightly differently than that, Jonny, and I completely appreciate the point you're making about the equation. When I use the word trust, I mean perhaps respect. Is there sufficient respect in the relationship, in a professional relationship between two people who don't work for the same company, that they are therefore willing to help each other out?
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
So maybe that's a better way of putting it than trust.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
Good point. So I was thinking as you were talking through that, Jolly, that maybe I was using respect as a synonym for credibility. In order to have credibility, there must be respect, and you can't get respect without seeing some credibility demonstrated.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
Yeah, a conference is probably a situation, if you're a speaker on stage at a conference, probably a situation where many people listening would feel deeply uncomfortable anyway. I push them even further. I would say that the best thing you can do when you are given the opportunity of speaking to an audience on stage is to ask for a referral whilst you're up there.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
You probably have to gamify it in order to get several referrals. There's probably got to be some sort of reward for one or more of the people who come back to you. But where I've persuaded clients to do it, they've had amazing success. It requires real guts. So Thomas, how does that work in practice?
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
I would say if you're on stage, people are probably listening to you unless you've been really tedious up to that point in the speech. Therefore, you probably need to use humour in order to just use humour to sort of defend yourself.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
Rather than saying, I run my business on referrals when you're on stage, more likely make a joke of the fact, I thought I'd take the opportunity whilst you're all listening to me. Do it as simple as that. Tone of voice, bit of humour, then go in with a question. I would like to be introduced to anyone you know who does this.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
I'm going to be slightly facetious, I suspect, in replying to that question, Matt. Every conversation you have is a potential opportunity to ask for a referral.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
let me give you another example where people might feel uncomfortable when you're at a conference or event there are loads of people at that event who you've never met before therefore by definition you do not have that trusting respectful relationship with you don't have any credibility but even in those circumstances you can ask strangers for a referral and you will get a remarkably high hit rate just in the sense of receiving the right names the right sorts of names from those strangers
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
Because, in many cases, those people who you've never met before are just grateful for having a conversation with you. They're in a room full of strangers too, and therefore human nature is that they will be grateful to you for initiating a conversation, and therefore they'll try to help you.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
I would say you have to go to those sorts of networking events and seek out the people who are feeling nervous and maybe not manage to enter into conversations. Then actively approach them. The technique that you need is to find out about them first. We in SBR talk about being interested as opposed to interesting. So find out what they are there for first.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
Find out about their business, their background first. which gives you the opportunity to show interest in them, which is a good thing anyway, before you ask for a referral. But it also gives you the opportunity to customise the question you ask when you seek a referral to the sort of network that they're going to have, having listened to who they are.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
So I actually don't use the word advice just because in English grammar it's slightly awkward. I talk about guidance. But you can absolutely tackle the same point you're making, Johnny. It's simply about the semantics. So I would go through giving the person who I'm talking to, whether I know them or not, a bit of a pat on the back.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
There are some organizations talking about giving them a stroke, an ego boost. In other words, I'd really appreciate your guidance on who you think I should be working with next. And then you can go into asking for the referral. I think the word guidance works better than advice in that particular context.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
So there's been all sorts of amazing teams I've worked with over the years, but probably if I had to choose one thing, I would say selling one business as an 82 times return has to stand out as a highlight. Wow. Yes. Why are you still working? People do ask that question. I would say divorce is expensive and my daughter wants to be a doctor. So I've got at least another nine years in me.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
Very simple to answer that question. The three things are, firstly, you have to be in the habit. So create an accountability mechanism for yourself to exhibit those behaviors and get you into the habit of asking for a referral at every opportunity. How to get into a habit varies for each individual, but make sure you get into the habit.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
The second thing is the technique that you need to use in order to ask for a referral is not to simply ask. But we need to be exploring, if you like, the mental little black book of the person we are asking. We need to help them to explore it. And the third thing I would say is actually a negative. I have never paid for a referral. A lot of people ask that question.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
Should we be rewarding the person who gives us referrals? I've been the recipient of a couple of bottles of nice red wine or champagne, and that's fantastic when I've given referrals to people. But there is no need to do that, especially where you've got the trusting relationship or the respectful relationship. You do not need to pay or reward people for referral.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
They're just willing to do it out of the goodness of their hearts, which I think comes back to Johnny's point around the psychology of this. The act of asking for referrals is primarily a psychological thing, which is why the habit is so important, because there are psychological barriers for most people.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
There are three really clear, easy answers to that question. Firstly, the most successful way of generating new revenue and therefore growing businesses has always been using referrals. The second thing that I have to highlight in terms of total revenue coming from growth has to be around account management. looking after customers, growing the relationships with customers and retaining them.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
One of my businesses, the biggest one, had an average customer life cycle of over 10 years. And that's quite special. And then I think you probably won't be surprised here, the third way of generating new business and therefore being successful is through what we call co-sailing. That is following customers as they change jobs. If they've been happy, they can be a happy customer again.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
People talk about teams winning deals. Teams also keep customers happy. It's not down to one account manager. It's down to a whole multitude of different roles, both on the client side and the supplier side. Therefore, having the opportunity to make sure there is continuity when one stakeholder leaves.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
I always thought that the best thing that can happen is that a happy customer leaves because you keep the happy customer organization and they become a prospect in their new job.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
I tell a story about one insurance client I won back in the year 2000. And by the time we'd finished that relationship with that one organization 16 years later, and that was due to an acquisition of them, we had generated, I think, 25 million of revenue from referrals, coattailing, and that customer relationship.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
Let me illustrate it with the point that there's some research from Texas Tech Uni, which I think will really illustrate the point. 83% of most companies' satisfied customers are willing to recommend them, but only 29% of those people do without being asked. In other words, asking for a referral is exploiting the 54%.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
Great question. There is lots and lots of passion in lots of people for lots of different topics. I really dislike the word passion because too many people overuse it these days. If you were to push me, I would say my passion in business is asking for referrals. Therefore, I'm constantly looking...
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
for new techniques new tweaks new ways that they can be used for example you don't just have to use them to generate new business you can use them to generate new relationships inside an existing customer you can use them for hiring you know looking for new candidates
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
If I'm going to be seen as an expert on this topic and certainly people who I've worked with get huge, you know, significant upside in terms of lead gen as a result. then I do need to understand the nuances, what can work and how relationships change, how culture changes across the world. There's all sorts of nuances we need to be aware of.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
Johnny, addressing your point around the international challenge that referrals could present, I simply have one piece of advice, which is very straightforward, and actually it can apply to almost any situation. Some people talk to me and they say they're a bit worried about asking for referrals. It could come across as being needy or desperate, some negative sentiment like that.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
I always tell them the best thing you can do, and this works internationally too to overcome the cultural challenge, is to tell anybody you talk to that you run your business using referrals. As soon as they understand that, it doesn't matter how often you ask them, it doesn't matter how you go about asking them, They'll be more surprised if you don't ask than if you do.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
And that works so far that it worked in any culture from the United States to Japan and everywhere in between.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
Hello, both of you. Hello, everybody. And thank you for the introduction. The best thing that's happened in my week has probably been how busy it's been, starting from before eight o'clock Monday morning, getting an order from a new customer right the way through the week. It's just been fantastic.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
I'd probably add that what we are doing by asking for referrals is effectively extending our network. If you're only asking for referrals from friends, you're therefore rather limiting your ability to extend your network.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
I think, given why do I have to say it, but everybody should be not only saying it, but truly believing it. Why would you not be using this rich source of the relationships you've already got in order to find new ones?
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
We need to address the fact that 82% of people who are looking to procure something new, looking for a new vendor, who never get as far as doing a Google search when they're looking for a new vendor because they ask their network and never get any further. So if you don't use referrals, you're only targeting 18% of the available budget.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
You probably use the internet to research what model you want, to research colors, that sort of stuff. But then when it gets to the point that you're actively going to go and find a dealer who would suit you, you probably ask friends what good experiences have you had, what dealers would they recommend, rather than asking for reviews on the internet.
The Growth Workshop Podcast
Episode 5 - How To Ask For Referrals with Thomas Coles: Your Network Is Your Net Worth
I often ask delegates who I'm working with in order to help them develop their referrals technique, when was the last time they asked for a referral? When was the last time they gave a referral? Because these things should definitely be reciprocal. SBR talking about giving to get.