So, you must be interested in taking those questions for the referral success system and diving deeper. I applaud you! Going as deep as possible will really help you get the most out of this.
Here are tons of questions to consider that will really get you thinking:
Here are tons of questions to consider that will really get you thinking:
Value to the STAR
- Who is the type of STAR you’d ideally want your referral PARTNER to send to you?
- Why should the STAR want to use whatever service you offer?
- What statistics can you use with industry data to prove your point?
- How can you draw attention to their pain points with industry data, and then show how you solve them?
- Why should they work with you specifically, meaning what additional value do you or can you provide that your competitors can’t?
- Why should they hire you over the current person they’re working with, even if it costs more, and how will you convince them of that?
- What is some sort of added value event (online or offline) or useful information you can put together so you have something you can offer your STAR (for free that costs you nothing) so they’re interested in speaking with you further?
- How can you incentivize them to join your mailing list even if they’re not ready to hire you right now - this way they don’t forget you in the future?
- What added value will you give them once a month using an email followup automation software so they don’t unsubscribe and they remember you next time they need your service?
- How can you convince STARS in your mailing list periodically to hire you?
- How can you use your mailing list to periodically convince their friends to join who also might need your service in the future?
- How can you incentivize the individual STARS to refer you more people and to keep hiring you again and again?
- How can you get all your individual STARS to send you more referral PARTNERS?
- How can you explain to your ideal STARS that paying less for a cheaper professional will lead to them buying more times and never getting a satisfactory product, and that paying you more will lead to much more benefits and less money spent in the long run?
- Why should they pay more to work with you when their friend does it for free?
- What success story can you share as part of your pitch to your ideal STAR?
- What three offers are you willing to make to the STAR?
Value to the PARTNER
- What does your referral PARTNER need (related to your field)?
- How can you be valuable to the ideal PARTNER besides offering to refer business to them?
- How will your PARTNER look good to their STARS when they introduce you and sell your services?
- What incentive is in it for them to want to introduce you to their STARS?
- How can you show them that it’s in their best interest to refer you as often as possible?
- Why should they refer people to you over the current person they’re working with (who offers the same service as you), even if you cost more?
- Why is it that, if the referral PARTNER already has a few people on their list who do what you do, it can be beneficial to still add you to their list?
- And what added value can you provide that no one else on their list is adding?
- Is there a way you can ask them for their current vendor list without it coming off as sneaky?
- What is some sort of added value event (online or offline) or useful information you can put together so you have something you can offer your PARTNER (for free that costs you nothing) so they’re interested in speaking with you further?
- Can you provide value to your referral PARTNERS by offering to make introductions to them to the ideal referral partners for them?
- How can you show your referral PARTNERS that their STARS will get tons of value by subscribing to your mailing list, even if they are not ready to buy right now?
- How can you incentivize referral PARTNERS to get STARS to subscribe to your mailing list?
- How can you incentivize referral PARTNERS to send you business more often than they currently are?
- How can you explain to your referral PARTNERS that paying less for a cheaper professional will lead to people buying more times and never getting a satisfactory product, and that paying you more will lead to much more benefits and less money spent in the long run?
- And how can you ensure your referral PARTNER is easily able to explain this to your ideal STAR when they refer them to you?
- How can you ensure that your PARTNER doesn’t feel intimidated or obligated if they feel uncomfortable putting you in touch with their STARS?
- What are you going to tell the PARTNER so they feel comfortable making the intro?
- How can you gracefully get your referral PARTNERS to send you more referral PARTNERS - what’s in it for them?
- What success story can you share as part of your pre-written copy and paste email you’ll ask the PARTNER to send when introducing you to another PARTNER or a STAR?
- For those who won’t want to introduce you directly to the STAR, what offer can you make that they will be interested in - meaning will they be able to add an upcharge and bundle you in with their service?
- What exact offers (three options, ideally) will you make for your referral PARTNER to give to your ideal STAR?
Value to the NETWORKER
- How will introducing you to the PARTNER (or ideal STAR) make the NETWORKER look good?
- How can you ensure that NETWORKERS don’t feel intimidated or obligated if they feel uncomfortable putting you in touch with their contacts?
- What are you going to tell the NETWORKER so they feel comfortable making the intro?
- What incentive can you offer to help ensure NETWORKERS want to refer potential partners to you?
- How can you make it as easy as possible for the NETWORKER to introduce you to your ideal partner?
- What do you want them to say to make the intro?
- What success story can you share as part of your pre-written copy and paste email you’ll ask the NETWORKER to send?
About Me
Martin Bentsen
Martin Bentsen, founder of Bentsen Breakthrough Consulting, has spoken numerous times at New York University, has run educational seminars at Actor's Connection on branding and marketing strategies for performers, and has written a 60 page informational book called Get Cast™, focusing on marketing tactics actors can use to find more consistent work. He is a member of both the National Association of Sales Professionals and Sales & Marketing Executives International, two highly acclaimed marketing organizations in the United States.
Martin graduated in 2011 with honors from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts' Film and Television program with a focus on directing and in 2010, he founded City Headshots®, which, according to Yelp, is ranked the top headshot studio in the United States. City Headshots currently employs seven people and has locations in New York, Denver, and Philadelphia. Some of City Headshots’ repeat clients include well known companies such as LinkedIn Corp, Facebook, American Express, and many of its photos have been featured in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
As a business owner who has grown a photography business from zero to half a million dollars per year, Martin not only understands the intricacies of marketing and finding clients, but also what it takes for clients to successfully navigate the marketing world and make themselves memorable. He coaches small business owners one-on-one with their branding, marketing, and operational strategies, and in how they conduct themselves with actual clients.
Martin’s long term goal is to run major business seminars across the country while expanding his City Headshots brand to go international.
Martin graduated in 2011 with honors from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts' Film and Television program with a focus on directing and in 2010, he founded City Headshots®, which, according to Yelp, is ranked the top headshot studio in the United States. City Headshots currently employs seven people and has locations in New York, Denver, and Philadelphia. Some of City Headshots’ repeat clients include well known companies such as LinkedIn Corp, Facebook, American Express, and many of its photos have been featured in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
As a business owner who has grown a photography business from zero to half a million dollars per year, Martin not only understands the intricacies of marketing and finding clients, but also what it takes for clients to successfully navigate the marketing world and make themselves memorable. He coaches small business owners one-on-one with their branding, marketing, and operational strategies, and in how they conduct themselves with actual clients.
Martin’s long term goal is to run major business seminars across the country while expanding his City Headshots brand to go international.