I have bad news and good news. The bad news is that there are several land mines waiting for you when you ask loyal customers for referrals. The good news is that you can avoid them and walk with confidence through your field of dreams. First the bad news. Avoid these land mines:

1. You've seen him at cocktail parties, grand openings and chamber of commerce mixers. He darts from one small group to another interrupting conversations inappropriately, and clutching a fist full of his own business cards that are brown on the edges from his sweaty palms. He's your typical obnoxious referral seeker asking too forcefully. Hey! just relax out there! If you make a good first impression you will probably get a chance to see these people again. Here's another bomb waiting to blow.

2. A new client sits in front of you describing all the influential people that she knows. Savvy word- of-mouth marketing maven that you are, you immediately recognize the tremendous potential that this new client has to build your business. The mouse in the corner notices saliva drip from the left corner of your broad smile. Watch out! you are about to step on a referral mine. Remember that your first task is to provide quality product and excellent service before she will trust you with names of her friends.

3. You think you are doing everything right. But when you ask for a referral, your loyal customer backs the truck up and dumps a load of surprising information about how you should improve your quality. Oops! I know you can't be aware of every problem your organization might be causing your customers. But, you can avoid this mine if you don't ask for a referral too early.

4. I know a professional who is so busy with his work that he just doesn't thinnk to ask for a referral until it is way too late. He provides competent service in a timely manner, but when it to asking for a referral from a satisfied client, he may wait a year or more. Don't wait too long. If you have built trust and gratitude in your client. Go ahead! Tell the client how much you value your reputation and that you know they play an important role in spreading it to others. You will seldom get turned down by a loyal, champion customer.

5. You've got to hand it to this guy. He just doesn't seem to give up. Every time he sees someone in person or talks on the telephone, he never fails to ask for a referral. Well . . . Too much of a good thing can spoil the meal. Remember the principle of reciprocity. If you withdraw from the bank of goodwill too many times without making a deposit in return, you will deplete the account and risk turning off your referral source. Go in the red and your client is likely to go away.

6. Being busy in your business may be a good sign that a lot of positive word of mouth is spreading about your company. I fyou afe too busy to say thank you when a loyal customer gives you a referral, you may be hurting yourself. Ask every new customer who referred them to you. Then make sure that you acknowledge this referral to the one who trusted you enough to talk on your behalf.

7. Another wrong way to ask for referrals is to simply blurt it out. In stead of saying something like "we really need your referrals; ould you send us new customers?" say something like We know that our reputation in this community is our most important asset. We also know that you play an important role in extending our reputation to others. And, I want to thank you for this. If someone you know needs the types of products and services we have, would you feel comfortable recommending him or her to us?"

8. Avoid the problem of asking for names and addresses of their circle of friends. This is often seen an an invasion of privacy and you might experience the same kind of back lash as did a few long distance telephone companies who tried this tactic. Instead, let your loyal customers recommend you to their friends. And then let these friends decide in their own time whether or not to make a purchase.

9. Of all the risks in asking for referrals, the most common is simply not asking.

Now for the good news. If you use the following six key elements as a guide when asking for referrals, you will most often succeed:

1. Start by building confidence and trust in loyal customers.
2. Use your client's point of view when asking for referrals.
3. Ask for referrals when you sense your customer's readiness.
4. Provide clients with positive, remarkable experiences or transactions with your company or its products.
5. Show respect and appreciation genuinely and appropriately.
6. Practice reciprocity with loyal supporters by referring customers to them.

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