Don't Overlook this Guaranteed Way to Increase the Success of Your Referral Strategy

How many referrals did you receive last month? Who was your last referral? Who referred them to you? Did a specific conversation or act on your part trigger the
referral? What was it?

Aren't you keeping track?

You are probably familiar with the maxim, "What gets measured gets done." When people keep score, they tend to try harder. The idea is that keeping track of your efforts and results puts a level of accountability into place that fosters action and discourages procrastination and sub-par effort—it's not so easy to brush off bringing up referrals with a client when you know you're hurting your records. It also gives you a clear perspective for judging what's working and what's not, and what's worth spending more time and effort on.

Keeping track works.

But all too often we fail to track our efforts, and months later, after the demands and distractions of day-to-day life has sapped away the momentum of reform, we are forced to acknowledge with shame that we did not live up to the goals we set for ourselves. Don't let your referral strategy efforts end this way.

Creating a simple spreadsheet in Excel or on paper is all that is needed, but you can also elect to use CRM software or websites created for tracking purposes. There are many options available to you. Whichever method you choose, the most important thing is to make updating and revisiting your records a priority in your schedule.

Here are some things worth tracking to get you started:

• Number of requests for referrals
• Responses to requests for referrals
• Closing rate on referrals by clients
• Assets brought on through referrals
• Time spent working on referral strategy

This list is not comprehensive, of course, and you should use the metrics which work best for you. Whatever you choose to keep records of, give it a try. You will better maintain motivation and improve your results if you track your efforts and results.