I’m extremely aware of both the referrals I give and the referrals I receive. I suppose running a business networking website and writing a networking blog will do that to you.

 

I don’t actually track the number of referrals that I give. It’s such a part of the way that I operate that it would really be ridiculous to try and track the number. On average I’d say I give at least 3 referrals a day.

 

On the other hand I religiously track the referrals I receive. My memory doesn’t always work so well and I want to be sure I remember the folks who refer business to me. I’ve found that if someone refers me once they’re much more likely to refer me twice, and when someone refers me multiple times I know I need to take care of them because they will continue to take care of me.

 

That being said I’ve found that I have to give 4-5 referrals for every 1 that I receive. You truly can’t expect to get referrals unless you give referrals. The more you give the more you’ll get, but don’t expect the numbers to be equal.

 

Are your referral expectations in line with these numbers? You should expect to give more than you receive. In the end it usually works out pretty well… It certainly does for me.

 

Happy networking!

 

Scott Ingram