Karim Wahba, of Realty One Group and President of Christian Business Partners Irvine, spoke today about how to get more referrals. Drawing on his years of real estate and networking experience, Karim, shared eight ideas for you to implement in your business to increase your referrals
By a show of hands, Karim asked, how many of us business owners are in sales? We all raised our hands. That’s right every business owner is also a salesperson. We may not want to call ourselves that, but we are.
And how do you get business today? What’s working for you?
- Events
- Word of mouth
- Networking
What activities have you tried that you didn’t like? Cold calling and knocking on doors. Exactly, no one likes to do these activities.
At this point, the audience was ready to hear something that actually worked. Karim did not disappoint.
1. Every business owner needs a CRM. It may not have to be a fancy one. Even something as simple as an Excel spreadsheet with name, phone number, and last date contacted would be better than nothing.
2. Send a physical item of value once a month. Things like a tax tip sheet or an educational piece on how to protect yourself from identification theft work well. Karim usually mails these tips out the second week of the month because most people get a lot of bills the first week of the month.
3. Email something of value two weeks after the physical mailing. Use the same principle here and share something helpful.
4. Call your contacts at least once a quarter. The purpose of the call is NOT to sell anything. Just use it to touch base with your contact. Ask about how they are doing? How is life? The goal is to reconnect.
5. Send a personal note. Karim uses personal notes in two ways. Anytime he receives a referral from one of his contacts, he will send a handwritten thank you note to them. This is a physical note, so remember that’s sent via regular post office mail. The second way he uses personal notes is to send a special birthday greeting one week before the actual birthday date. Then he follows up with a phone call on the birth date.
6. Personalize Your Social Media. Karim suggested sharing personal stuff on your social media channels because people connect with people. The more real you are, the higher chance people will want to connect with you. Always posting about your work is boring. So post a few personal topics or photos to show your human side. Of course, you should share work-related stuff. In this case, Karim shares a video on a market update the 1st week of the month. On the 3rd week of the month, he shares a random video that might be offering a tip. Lastly, Karim suggested you tag your friends or colleagues when you post a video.
7. Schedule a “Pop by” twice a year. Karim likes to do this on Mother’s Day and Thanksgiving. Each time he gives a small gift. For example, for Mother’s Day, he buys a $5 gift, to deliver to all the mothers on his contact list. For Thanksgiving, he has a baker friend who creates delicious desserts, so he delivers a yummy treat just before the holiday. This helps his contacts think about him when they are dining together with their families over the holidays.
8. Lastly, host a Client Appreciation Event. The purpose of the event is to say “Thank You” to current and past clients, have fun and help clients meet a lot of new people. Karim’s last event was at a bowling alley at The District. His clients and their families all attended and got to know each other. They all had a blast.
Remember, the key to getting referrals is in the follow-up. So you just read about 8 ways to creatively follow up with your contacts. So which are you going to implement in your business?
If you’d like to join us for the next informative speaker, we meet every Tuesday morning at IHOP 18542 MacArthur Blvd in Irvine, California 92618 from 8:15 am to 9:33 am.
Please check out our Facebook Page to see who’s scheduled next.
If you need help coming up with follow up ideas for your business, contact me. I’d be happy to brainstorm with you.