Before you can go ahead and give someone a referral, you must know them and know their business, this much is obvious. You wouldn’t refer somebody that needs their house sided to a painter would you? Of course not.

There are many ways to get to know people within your business community and a lot of places to go to meet them.

For starters you can attend networking groups, chamber luncheons, Lions clubs, or rotary clubs, to name a few.

These organizations meet either weekly or monthly, and they offer a great opportunity for people within the business community to meet, network, and get to know each other.

I once had a friend that I worked with in the mortgage business. He would attend networking luncheons religiously, but he would often come back from his meetings disappointed.

One day I decided to ask him why he was so frustrated. He replied by telling me that after all of the time he had spent talking with people, exchanging business cards, and flat out asking for business, that he had yet to receive any. The whole situation had him completely puzzled.

I than said to him, well, have you ever given anyone at these networking events you attend a referral? He replied that he had not, but the light bulb over his head became a lot brighter.

He took me up on my suggestion, and before long, the referrals started to come in.

This is not to say, that the only way to get a referral is to give a referral, because it most certainly is not. But it sure does help.

You may say to yourself, no one ever gave me a referral, so why should I give anyone else a referral. You really don’t need me to tell you that this attitude will get you know where, because it won’t.

Somebody has to start the referral process, so it might as well be you. This way you are working smarter and not harder.

One idea is to start a partnership with someone. If you are a loan officer, you might consider partnering up with a realtor. If you are a contractor, you may consider teaming up with a plumber.

Like it or not, the process of referring business back and forth to people in your business community can get a little bit political. So it is important to establish yourself within the business community and build as many relationships as possible. Make sure the relationships you build are with responsible and dependable people who you can count on to send you qualified leads, otherwise you are just wasting your time.

This truly is one of the smartest and easiest ways to get referrals heading in your direction, so give it a shot, and best of luck.