Referrals (Introductions) Are Not About You!

Before you start to think that we are splitting hairs on the difference between a referral and an introduction, let us ask you a question. Has this ever happened to you? You have one of your very best clients say something along the lines of:

“Hey, I have a good friend that I want to send over to you, do you have a business card I can give him? His name is Matt and I've told him how amazing you are and how much I like working with you, and I told him to give you a call. You should be hearing from him anytime.”

And then two or three, or even four, months goes by, and you never heard from Matt. So, you call your good client and say “Hey I never heard from your friend, anything I can do there? Anything I need to know?” I'll ask again, has this ever happened to you? When we ask that question of advisors that we are actively consulting and coaching with, they start to laugh out loud before I can even finish the question because it has happened so frequently. The client obviously meant well; they asked for your card, said nice things about you, but in a large majority of those situations it never seems to go any farther. What do you make of that?