The Roundabout Roadmap to Referrals, Part 2: "I Found You"

Referrals rarely travel in straight lines

Marketing makes us want to draw nice, clean arrows.

• Facebook → Client
• Google → Client
• Directory → Client
• Networking → Client

Real people don’t cooperate with our diagrams. They bounce around.

Someone might hear your name from a friend, search for you online, find your directory listing, visit your website, follow you on Instagram, notice an event you’re hosting and finally contact you. 

When you ask where they heard about you, they might say, “Online.” Technically true. Not terribly illuminating. 

Or they might say, “My friend told me about you.” Also true.

The fact that they encountered you three more times between the friend’s recommendation and their first phone call may not even register as part of the referral.

Everyone sees a different piece of the road

Think again about our original Facebook example. 

• The friend who made the post might think Facebook produced the answer.
• I can look at the same situation and think, “Great! I just referred someone to our Holistix Online members.”
• The professional who ultimately receives an inquiry might think their website generated the lead.
• And the person seeking help may simply think, "I found someone who might be able to help me.”

We’re all looking at the same journey from different places on the road. That’s why asking how someone heard about you is useful, but it’s not necessarily the whole story.

Some referrals take the scenic route

There’s another complication. Time.

We tend to imagine a referral working something like this: I recommend you on Tuesday. The person calls you on Wednesday. You know exactly where the referral came from. 

Sometimes that happens. But what if I recommend you in August and the person calls you in October? Maybe they weren’t ready. Maybe they wanted to research their options. Maybe cost was an issue. Maybe they were dealing with something else first. Maybe they saved your information and forgot about it until something reminded them.

The referral didn’t disappear. It was simply sitting there. Waiting until the time was right. 

By the time that person contacts you, they may not remember exactly where your name first appeared. And you certainly don’t know that someone mentioned you two months earlier.

Visibility gives referrals somewhere to land

This is one reason being visible in more than one place matters. It’s tempting to look at each marketing activity individually:

• Did this directory listing get me a client?
• Did that event get me a client?
• Did this article get me a client?
• Did that social media post get me a client?

Sometimes you’ll know. Often you won’t. 

A directory listing may introduce someone to you. An article may help them understand your approach. An event may let them experience your personality or expertise. Your website may answer another question. Seeing your name again may simply make you more familiar. 

None of those interactions has to do all the work. Together, they can help a referral keep moving forward to you.

That's why "I found you" matters

The goal isn’t to be everywhere. It’s to be findable, especially for the people who are looking for you, your products and/or services. 

If someone hears your name from a friend, can they find you? If they discover you in a directory, does your listing tell them enough to take another step? If they find an event you’re offering, where do they get details? If they encounter one of your articles, can they figure out what you do and how to connect with you?

Every one of those creates another road leading toward you. That’s especially important for holistic professionals because potential clients may be exploring unfamiliar approaches. They may need more information, more exposure and more confidence before they’re ready to make contact.

So keep asking people how they found you. The answers can be useful. Just don’t assume those answers show you the entire referral pathway. Some of your best referrals may be ones you never knew you received. And eventually, after all those turns, someone arrives at an important point: “I found you.” 

Wonderful. But there’s still some road ahead. Because “I found you” isn’t the same thing as, "I’m ready. How do I sign up?”