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The Amazing Seth Godin - How to get referrals

I found this article today on Seth Godin’s blog, the guy is a master marketer. You need need to read his stuff. Check out his Blog and website SethGodin.com
Seth Godin:

* writes the most popular marketing blog in the world;
* is the author of the bestellling marketing books of the last decade;
* speaks to large groups on marketing, new media and what’s next;
* and is the founder of Squidoo.com, a fast-growing recommendation website.

How to get referrals

There’s been thousands of pages written about this topic, but still, no luck. It’s too hard.

Yes, we know that referrals are the very best way to grow your business.

And we know that asking for a referral is both scary but apparently the most effective technique.

And we know that excellent service is a great place to start.

But still, not enough referrals. How come?

First, marketers often forget to look at this from the consumer’s point of view. Why on earth should I give you a referral? Yes, I know it’s important to you, but why is it important to me?

And second, I have a lot to lose if I refer a friend to you. You might screw up, in which case she’ll hate me. Or you might somehow do something that, through no fault of your own, disappoints. If I recommend a greek restaurant and my friend goes and they don’t have skordalia, and she loves skordalia… oops.

And third, the act of recommending you isn’t easy. It’s not easy to recommend a tailor to make your co-worker look a little less shabby. It’s not easy to bring up the fact that you have a great psychiatrist or even a particularly wonderful (but very expensive) shoe store.

Given the no-win nature of most referrals, you need to reset your expectations and consider a few ideas:

* Make it easy for someone to bring up what you do (by changing the nature of the service or product).
* Give your best customers something of real value to offer to their friends (a secret menu, a significant gift certificate). Once you do that, not giving that gift to a friend feels selfish.
* Paying me to refer you rarely works, because you’re not just asking for a minute of my time, you’re asking me to put my credibility on the line.
* Understand that low-risk referrals happen more often than high-risk ones, and either figure out how to become a low-risk referral or embrace the fact that you have to be truly amazing in order to earn one.

and

* Be worthy. Not just in the work you do, but in your status in the marketplace. I’m far more likely to refer someone with a back story, someone who’s an underdog, or relatively unknown. That’s why saying “thank you” in deeds (not so much in words) goes such a long way.

Posted by Seth Godin on November 27, 2006 | Permalink

Biography
Seth Godin:

* writes the most popular marketing blog in the world;
* is the author of the bestellling marketing books of the last decade;
* speaks to large groups on marketing, new media and what’s next;
* and is the founder of Squidoo.com, a fast-growing recommendation website.

You can read his wikipedia bio, reviews of his seminars and what Google thinks of him.

Godin is author of nine books that have been bestsellers around the world and changed the way people think about marketing, change and work. His books have been translated into more than 20 languages, and his ebooks are among the most popular ever published. He is responsible for many words in the marketer’s vocabulary, including permission marketing, ideaviruses, purple cows, the dip and sneezers. His irrepressible speaking style and no-holds-barred blog have helped him create a large following around the world.

His latest book, The Dip, is his fastest-selling book to date. It’s about quitting, but more important, it’s about being the best in the world.

Small is the New Big was published in 2006 and has been nominated by Publishers Weekly for what may one day be a prestigious Quill award.

All Marketers are Liars made the Amazon Top 100 and has been translated into more than a dozen languages.

Free Prize Inside, was an Amazon Top 50 bestseller and a New York Times business bestseller. It describes how every single person in your organization is in the marketing department… and shows you how to make something happen.

Purple Cow, was a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. It’s all about how companies can transform themselves by becoming remarkable.

The Big Red Fez, Godin’s take on web design, was the #1 ebook (worldwide) on Amazon for almost a year before it was published in paperback in 2002. The Miami Herald called it one of the best business books of the year.

Survival is Not Enough has made bestseller lists in Germany, the UK and the United States. With a foreword by Charles Darwin, this breakthrough book redefines what change means to anyone who works for a living. Tom Peters called it a, “landmark.” The book was first excerpted in Fast Company, where Godin is a contributing editor.

Unleashing the Ideavirus is the most popular ebook ever written. More than 2,000,000 people downloaded the digital version of this book about how ideas spread. Featured in USA Today, The New York Times, The Industry Standard and Wired Online, Ideavirus hit #4 on the Amazon Japan bestseller list, and #5 in the USA.

Permission Marketing was an Amazon.com Top 100 bestseller for a year, a Fortune Best Business Book and it spent four months on the Business Week bestseller list. It also appeared on the New York Times business book bestseller list.

His free ebooks can be found here.

Seth is a renowned speaker as well. He was recently chosen as one of 21 Speakers for the Next Century by Successful Meetings and is consistently rated among the very best speakers by the audiences he addresses.

Seth was founder and CEO of Yoyodyne, the industry’s leading interactive direct marketing company, which Yahoo! acquired in late 1998. Godin worked as VP Direct Marketing at Yahoo before leaving to become a full time speaker, writer and blogger.

He holds an MBA from Stanford, and was called “the Ultimate Entrepreneur for the Information Age” by Business Week.
CLICK HERE to return to Seth’s blog.