MRL #067- Rob the Referral Magnet

“How’d you find that one?” I asked.

“Referral,” laughed Rob.

It’s a running joke at this point.

Every time I turn around Rob is writing a new deal inbound from a referral.

I started noticing it when we began working together a year ago.

The guy’s phone just kept ringing with layup after layup.

After seeing it play out a dozen times or more I finally asked him what his secret was.

He just laughed and gave some answer that was terribly underwhelming.

He wasn’t holding anything back, I just think he honestly doesn’t know why he gets so many referrals.

You ever met somebody that had a knack for something?

Well, that’s Rob with referrals.

You can ask him all you want, but you won’t learn much.

He just does what he does (if that makes sense).

It’s just comes natural to him.

And I’ve learned over the years…

The Best Way To Learn From A “Natural” Is Just To Watch Them

Watch what they do, what they say, how they say it, how they handle their business…

And then extrapolate the lessons and key takeaways from there.

So, that’s what I’ve been doing for the better part of the last year…

Watching “Rob the Referral Magnet” write deal after deal, well over $100K in revenue, without doing a lick of prospecting.

And I’ve picked up on a few things.

5 things to be exact…

That Rob does without really thinking, that spins him off referral after referral.

The good news is, you can probably do 4 of them starting tomorrow.

The first one though, I can’t really help you with.

#1. He’s Just a Likeable Guy

I don’t know about you, but I’m not Mr. Charismatic.

I can work a room if I need to, but it’s not my default.

Rob, on the other hand, he’s all southern charm and charisma.

If there’s a group of people gathered, he’s in the middle of it, and making everybody laugh.

And not in some cheesy salesman way…

It’s genuine.

He’s just a people person, and everybody loves the guy.

Rob likes people, and people like (and want to help) Rob.

Simple as that.

#2. He “Services The Shyt Out Of His Clients”

Those are his words, not mine.

That’s actually the answer he gave me when I asked what his secret was.

“I service the shyt out of my clients, and they want to help me back, I guess?”

Told you it was underwhelming.

Nevertheless, it’s true.

He genuinely bends over backwards to serve his clients.

And they repay him 10 times over by referring anyone they can.

#3. He’s Niched In Distressed & Desperate Verticals

Trucking and construction, mostly.

And there’s 2 things you need to know about these two verticals around here:

1. Everybody’s paying an arm-and-a-leg

2. They all talk to each other

So, when he helps one of them tomorrow, three more hear about it by Tuesday.

And the referral machine just keeps spinning.

#4. He Has 4-5 Bulk Referral Sources

I know for a fact he didn’t set them up on purpose…

But, he has 4-5 key referral sources that send him boatloads of leads.

You know how I said he’s in trucking?

Well, he helped a handful of freight brokers get out of a bind a few years back…

And ever since, they’ve been sending him referrals like they’re going out of style.

If you don’t know, freight brokers are basically the middlemen between shippers and truckers.

So, if a trucking co is in a tough spot insurance-wise, freight brokers hear about it, and send them to Rob.

They’re basically the perfect referral partner for someone in the trucking niche.

#5. He Asks For Referrals At Every Renewal

Again…

I think this is also accidental…

But, I’ve been with Rob on multiple renewal meetings, and heard Rob on multiple renewal calls say something like this:

“Well, if you know anybody else in a bind, send em’ my way.”

Nothing pushy or salesy.

Just a quick reminder to his clients to send him anybody that needs help.

He doesn’t have a script (or even make a note) to remind himself to say it.

He just does.

In his head, I think it just makes sense that…

“Since I helped them, they’ll want to help me.”

Rob being Rob.

What Can We Learn About Getting More Referrals From “Rob The Referral Machine”?

1. Be a genuinely good person, and serve your clients

2. Go above and beyond the call of duty

3. Look for distressed markets who need help

4. Even better, if they’re connected and talk to each other

5. Look for key sources (hubs) that connect with multiple businesses in your industry (spokes).

6. Ask for referrals in a non-salesy way

As you probably guessed…

There’s nothing new or earth-shattering here…

It really just comes down to doing the basics really well, and asking for them.

Now, before I go…

A Quick Caveat

If you’ve been consuming our content for any period of time you’ve heard us drone on about the importance of cold prospecting.

So, you’re probably wondering…

“Max, doesn’t Rob and his referrals fly in the face of what you preach about the importance of cold prospecting?”

And to that I say…

No, actually.

Because, what you don’t know is…

Rob has been in the game for well over a decade now.

He’s been in the trenches, smiling and dialing, and grinding for most of that time.

It’s only been in the last year or two that his “network” and his book of business have reached the critical mass necessary to spin off this volume of referrals.

Rob’s success today would not be possible without the cold prospecting in the beginning.

That’s the caveat I don’t want you to miss.

Yes, you can write a lot of business via networking and referrals, but…

It comes later.

In the beginning, if you’re truly building from scratch, with no hand-me-downs, you’re gonna have to cold prospect.

You just are.

For that, check out The Producer Playbook.

It’s our step-by-step guide to building a $1,000,000 book via cold prospecting.

Oh, and it’s Rob-approved.

See you next Sunday.

Kick ass take names,

Maximus F Revenue IV

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