Make a referral ask that helps the client think of a real name.
Write down, word for word, what you said the last time you asked a client for a referral. If it was close to "Do you know anyone who might need help like this?", you probably got one of three answers: "not off the top of my head", "no" or "I'll let you know".
Arjun (an invented example) works with clients on their personal finances and holds annual reviews. At the end of one review, a client tells him it was the most useful hour she has spent on her finances all year. This is the best moment to ask for a referral, because a client has just praised the work. Lesson 5.1 describes this moment. Arjun replies "That's great to hear" and asks whether she knows anyone who might need help like this. She thinks briefly, says "Hmm, not off the top of my head", and the conversation moves on.
What Arjun used is a vague ask: a broad request such as "Do you know anyone who might need this?" It fails because the question is too broad. The client has to search her whole memory for anyone who might fit something she only partly understands. When a question is hard, people give the easy answer. Arjun's client is not being unhelpful. She probably knows dozens of people who could use the help, but her mind goes blank.
The vague ask also leaves her to decide who counts. She may not see that someone she knows, such as a cousin who just bought a flat or a colleague expecting a baby, is exactly the kind of person Arjun helps. Clients don't think like salespeople, and they shouldn't have to.
The fix is a specific ask: describe one concrete kind of person, by life stage or situation, so the client can picture someone. The more concrete the description, the faster a name comes to mind, because the description gives the client's memory something to search for.
Arjun's specific version asks whether anyone in her circle has just got the keys to a new flat and is expecting a baby. He adds that this is usually when couples start wishing they had sat down and done this. His client, who had just been thanking him, thinks of her sister-in-law straight away.
Wei Ling (an invented example) helps small clinics move bookings online and send automatic reminders, so the front desk spends less time on the phone. Her vague ask was whether the client knew any other clinics that might be interested. Her specific ask is whether the client knows anyone who has just started their own clinic and is still taking bookings by phone. A practice manager who hears this immediately thinks of a former colleague who left last year to open a practice.
A good description names a life stage or situation the client can recognise from the outside, such as starting a clinic, collecting keys to a new flat or expecting a baby. It doesn't ask the client to judge whether the person "needs" anything. Two places to start: the buyer descriptions you wrote for your profile in module 1, and the trigger events taught in the course "Prospecting: build a pipeline that does not run dry".
Because a specific ask works better, it also carries more risk of making the client feel pushed. Reduce that risk by making it easy to decline, and say so out loud. Add a line such as "No worries at all if no one comes to mind" or "Only if you think they'd find it useful."
If the client says no one comes to mind, accept it warmly and move on. Don't ask again in the same conversation, and don't follow up later to ask whether they've thought of anyone. There are two reasons for this. A client who feels pressured once will be wary next time, and that costs you future referrals. A name given under pressure also rarely leads to a good conversation, because the friend can tell they were handed over reluctantly.
Even when a client thinks of a name, the referral can stall. The client now has to explain who you are, what you do and why their friend might want to talk, and most people find this awkward. To solve this, give them a forwardable note: a short message written to the friend, which the client can paste into WhatsApp or email.
The note says who you are in one line and what you helped the client with, and it gives the friend an easy, no-pressure way to get in touch. Keep it short and in plain words. Leave out product details and prices. The client should feel comfortable sending it without editing it, and the friend should be able to read it in a few seconds.
Wei Ling's note covers these points, in this order. A friend at a clinic in Bishan suggested she get in touch. She is Wei Ling. She helps small clinics move bookings online and send automatic reminders so the front desk spends less time on the phone. If that's useful, she's happy to share how other clinics have set it up. There is no obligation either way.
Before you contact the friend, make sure they have agreed. Lesson 5.3, "Consent comes first", explains how to do this.
Most salespeople serve more than one kind of client, and a specific ask written for one type won't fit another. Write two asks, each with its own note, one for each of your two most common client types.
In the activity below, you'll write your specific referral ask for two types of client, each describing a person the client can picture, and a short note they could forward.
Write a specific referral ask for two types of client, plus a short note each could forward.
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