Thomas Coles

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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?

So maybe that's a better way of putting it than trust.

So maybe that's a better way of putting it than trust.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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?