Picked up a referral trick from a Chandler coffee meetup last Thursday

I had been struggling to get people to actually follow through on the referrals they promised me at networking events. One guy at the meetup suggested I try asking for a specific person they know instead of a general referral. Has anyone else found that narrowing the ask makes a difference in response rates?

2 comments

2 Comments

parker_park817d ago

Yeah narrowing it down works. I started asking "do you know three business owners in your networking group" instead of just "anyone you can refer me to" and my hit rate doubled. Specific names give people a concrete mental image to work with.

elizabeth90016d ago

Wait, three business owners? That's a specific number, I've never thought to put a hard number on it like that. I mean, I'd always just say "anyone in your network" and get crickets, but giving them three names to think of feels almost like a test they want to pass. I bet it works because it makes them stop and mentally scan their whole group instead of just shrugging and saying they'll "keep an ear out.