Make five real referral asks at the right moments and record what happens.
Open a spreadsheet now and set up the columns for logging five referral asks: client, date, the moment, the ask used, outcome, any names offered, consent status, and thank-you sent. If the log is ready before your first ask, you can record each ask straight away, while you still remember the words you used and how the client reacted.
From earlier work, you already have four pieces: a list of the moments when clients feel the value of your work, a specific ask for two types of client, a note clients can forward, and a line asking clients to check with their friend first. Now you use them with real clients. The exercise stops at five asks on purpose. The skill you're practising has three parts: spotting the moment, saying the words out loud, and staying gracious whatever the answer is. Preparing and recording take about 30 minutes in total. The asks themselves are spread over however long it takes for five good moments to come up.
Go back to the moments you listed in Lesson 5.1, "Referrals come from moments, not from asking more often", and pick five clients who have felt the value of your work recently. A client who was delighted six months ago may barely remember why. Look for evidence that they felt the value. Any of these counts: a thank-you, a remark that something has improved, a claim paid, a project gone live, a problem fixed.
Wei Ling (an invented example) chose five clinics that had gone live in the last two months. All five had mentioned that the front desk was quieter. Arjun (also invented) chose two clients whose claims had been paid recently, two couples who had just done their annual reviews, and one client who had told him a colleague was asking about insurance. That made 2 + 2 + 1 = 5.
If you don't have five suitable clients yet, start with the ones you have. Add the rest as moments come up over the next few weeks.
Each row of the log is one real ask. In the moment column, write what value the client had just felt when you asked. In the ask column, note which of your two versions you used and any changes you made to it. The outcome column records what happened. The names column records anyone the client mentioned.
The consent status column shows where each name stands on permission. Use one of four labels:
none needed (no name given) client checking with friend introduction made contact agreed to hear from you
The last column is a tick to show you have sent the thank-you.
When a client shows you they have felt the value, make your specific ask from Lesson 5.2, "Ask for a specific kind of person", in your own words. Then offer the forwardable note so the client does not have to explain you. Where it fits, ask them to check with their friend first or to make an introduction.
A practice manager at a clinic in Toa Payoh messaged Wei Ling to say the clinic's Monday was the quietest she could remember. Wei Ling replied that this was great to hear. Wei Ling then said that if the manager ever came across someone who had just started their own clinic and was still taking bookings by phone, Wei Ling would be glad to help that person too, and that it was no problem if no one came to mind. The manager said a former colleague had opened a clinic in Sengkang. Wei Ling thanked her, sent the forwardable note, and asked whether she would check with the colleague first or put them in touch on WhatsApp. The manager said she would check, so the log entry read: client checking with friend.
Record each ask straight after you make it, and record the asks that went nowhere as well. A log that only holds the successes can't show you what to change.
Across five asks, Wei Ling got one introduction made by WhatsApp within a week, one client checking with a friend, two clients who said no one came to mind, and one client who said she would think about it and had not come back. That is 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 5. Arjun got two introductions, one client who offered a name but wanted to mention it to the friend first, and two who said no. That is 2 + 1 + 2 = 5.
A no is as useful as a yes. For each one, look at how the ask sounded. You may have described the person so narrowly that nobody fitted, or the moment may have been weaker than it seemed. Arjun noticed that both of his no answers came from the couples at annual reviews, where he had asked at the very end as they were packing up. Next time he plans to ask earlier, while they are still talking about what the review showed them.
Thank every client you asked, whether or not they gave a name. A client who said no still did you a favour by listening, and a warm thank-you makes it easy for them to come back to you later when someone does come to mind. If a client gave a name or made an introduction, thank them the same day and plan to update them later. Lesson 6.3, "The thank-you that brings the next referral", covers how to do this in detail.
Your finished log has five rows, one per real ask. Each row holds the client, date, moment chosen, words used, outcome, any names offered, consent status for each name, and a tick for the thank-you. Underneath, write two or three lines on which moments worked, which wording got names, and what you would change. You will carry this log into module 6. The activity below asks you to make the five asks and keep exactly this record.
Make five referral asks. For each one, record the client, the moment, the ask you used, the outcome and the consent status.
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