By: Jane Southren
As most anyone in professional services knows, referrals can be a valuable source of work. Clients who have come to you via referral are pre-qualified by their referrers. As a result, they’re likely to be well-aligned with you from the perspective of having shared values and service expectations. The acquisition of clients by referral also requires the least energy and investment from you, in the moment, than any other form of lead generation activity. But referrals can also be a double-edged sword.
Here’s why.
On one hand, referrals are a vitally important means of generating business and building name recognition. As professional services providers, having our names on others’ lips is worth more than any other means of acquiring clients. On the other hand, sometimes a referral received—or given—turns out to be nothing but a hot potato. So what do we do with those ‘Hot Potatoes’?
There are things you can do to make sure you are giving and receiving referrals in ways that feel more authentic, useful, less cringe-inducing, and beneficial to you (and those around you) in the longer term. As an added benefit, if you all conduct yourselves this way, we will end the Hot Potato game people often play with referrals in the legal sector, once and for all!
Giving and Receiving Referrals Responsibly
Here is the context. Someone has found you or been referred to you and has reached out to you for assistance. But, for whatever reason, you aren’t able to help them yourself. Maybe it’s outside of your area of expertise. Perhaps you’ve determined they can’t afford your rates. Or, you may simply lack the bandwidth to take on the matter at the time it comes in. Regardless of the reason, the reality is you cannot personally assist the client.
The solution is obvious. You need to refer the person on… but to whom?
The ‘Hot Potato’ Game Begins
Unfortunately, in many cases lawyers either don’t know (or can’t immediately think of) the ‘right’ person. Instead of devoting what they feel is already limited time and energy to figure out who or what resource would be the ideal candidate to help the potential client (a time investment that they don’t believe offers them any benefit in return), their primary goal shifts from being of service to, “get this off my desk.” This is when the game of ‘Referral Hot Potato’ often begins.
That lawyer sends the potential client to the first person they can think of. Someone that they think might be less expensive, need the business more, or any number of justifications they invent to convince themselves they’re doing something useful. Unfortunately, the referral is not a good fit for that “receiving” lawyer, either. That lawyer then finds themself in the same position and they throw the referral over to yet another lawyer who they think might be less expensive, need the business more… and so on.
When I was in private practice, it was not uncommon for me to speak to a client who’d been through several other lawyers in a linked chain of Referral Hot Potato before they got to me. By then:
the potential clients were tired, frustrated, and convinced that no one wanted to help them;
many of the lawyers in the Hot Potato Chain were feeling sheepish and ambivalent; and
the lawyers who did ultimately get retained were starting their relationships with the clients at a place that was far from ideal - through no fault of their own.
To put it bluntly: no one is served by Referral Hot Potato. Not the referring lawyers. Not the receiving lawyers. And certainly not the clients.
So what can we do to stop the Hot Potato Cycle?
Your Network is the Key - Become a Centre of Influence
In times like this, when no one immediately springs to mind as a really solid referral for a matter, it’s a sign – a wake up call, really – that it’s time to strengthen the relationships in your professional network. It’s time to bring more people into it, and to learn more about the strengths, experience and aspirations of the people who are already in it.
When you have done (and have a practice of continuing to do) the work of cultivating and maintaining a diverse network of skilled and capable professionals, you will have become a centre of influence. You know the people in your network well, and you’ve developed a clear sense of what they consider a good and valuable referral to receive. As a result, people consider you a trusted resource. They come to you because they believe that, no matter the issue, you can either help them directly, or you’ll know and can connect them to someone who is well-suited to help them.
You see where this is going? The game of Hot Potato ends when you have invested the time to really know and nurture your network. Because you’ve done that important work, you’ve got the contacts and relationships that allow you to refer to the right people - not just get potential clients who have been routed to you off your plate.
Broaden Your Network
In the context of the coaching work I do, I’m usually talking about referrals of legal matters. But, I always encourage my clients to think bigger when it comes to being a centre of influence.
To be sure, I advise them to get to know a variety of lawyers in other areas of practice, accountants of all varieties, paralegals and ALS providers. But, I also recommend they add to their network chiropractors, travel agents, realtors, dog-
walkers—you name it. Connect with as many people in as many roles as possible, and take the time to find out what a great referral looks like, for them. Ask them what they are hoping to accomplish in their business. Then, make referrals to them accordingly. There is no doubt that these inquiries will result in those people asking the same questions of you. And guess what happens next?
By becoming curious and interested in what people identify as a great referral for them, where their zones of genius lie, what their billing rates and practices are, what their personal service standard and practices are etc., you are able to send them referrals that fit them, and provide the people who ask for help someone of real value to them. Hot Potato Interrupted. And in return, the people in your network also have a better view of what you identify as a great referral for you. The referrals that come to you will also start to be more of the kind you want.
It Pays to be Influential
The return on investment of the time you spend on this work properly is massive because you will, at a minimum:
Develop a network of fantastic people whom you trust, admire, are inspired by and who seriously uplevel the joy and meaning you find in the practice, and in your life;
Become the person that really is acting in service of these potential clients and the people who referred them to you; and
Become a centre of influence–a person that others reach out to when they need the right person for just about anything. Trust that this will result in you receiving the kinds of referrals that are best suited to you and what you aspire to in your own practice.
How do I start?
Receiving referrals that aren’t ideal requires you to engage your contributive mindset. What lies at the heart of this is your ability to understand what the client needs and match it with the capabilities of the person to whom you’re going to refer them. So you start by thinking about what you can actually do for the next person who is referred to you, the person who referred them to you, and, if necessary, the person to whom you will be referring them.
Let’s face it, sending a potential client to someone who is not equipped to help them is going to be frustrating to both of them, which is not what you want. You want both the client, and the person to whom you’re referring them, to feel like you’re genuinely considering what they want and need; that you’re being of real service to them.
So, next time you need to make a referral, start by calling the lawyers (or other professionals) who you consider good candidates for the potential referral and asking them if it is indeed the kind of matter and/or client they can and want to deal with. If it is not, ask them who they know that might be a good fit. And then call that person. Rinse and repeat until you find someone who can at least take the client one more step along their journey.
The benefit to you, in addition to actually being of service to the potential client and the referral candidate that ultimately gets retained, is that all of the phone calls you have made will have given you a rare opportunity to have a genuine reason for reaching out to bring new people into your network, and to strengthen the relationships with people you already know, but would benefit from knowing better..
Advanced Responsible Referrals
Now let’s take this whole thing up a level. If the matter was referred to you by another professional (as opposed to being an inquiry directly from the potential client), but wasn’t right for you, the first step is to find the right person to whom to refer the matter on, as described above. Everyone should be doing this.
The advanced move is to then take the next step and reach out directly to the person who referred the matter to you, and to anyone else who was ahead of you all the way along the chain of referrals that the matter has come down on its way to you, to meet
Call everyone in the chain. Let them know who was ultimately engaged, thank them for referring it on so that it ultimately reached its proper destination. Ask them about the kind of work they do, what kind of matters or clients they’re interested in, their approach and service philosophy, fees, matters they would identify as great referrals for them, - anything that could help you understand them better. And share the same information about yourself. In short, use the opportunity to enhance your understanding of people you already know along that chain, to forge new relationships and, most importantly, to educate everyone on the chain about yourself, your service and billing practices, what makes a great referral for you etc.
I can hear the resistance already. “But Jane, this will take so much time and we are already time strapped”.
It is true. It will take time. But it is time well spent, because you will not only be of real service to those immediately involved in getting the potential client to the person who can help them. You will also get a rare opportunity to have a legitimate and authentic reason to reach out to build and enhance relationships with people you might not otherwise have significant connection to and you will be serving as a role model for responsible referral behaviour. Hopefully, those you speak to will take a note and do the same next time they give or receive a referral, and we can do away with the practice of Referral Hot Potato.
Bonus Tip :: Making Yourself Memorable
By simply calling each person on the inbound and outbound referral chain, and striking up a rapport, you’re already taking an uncommon step. That’s bound to get you noticed. Still, I suggest you go one step further.
If you really want to stand out, take the time to personally thank those who made the referrals, and even those who accepted the referral from you. It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture—a handwritten note, a small gift, some Craig’s Cookies (a fan favourite… especially for people with kids!) Just thank them—and do so in a way that is memorable.
Wishing you success in your referral practice.
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