Speaker 1: 0:00

You want to know what the gravy is, Mr Craig.

Speaker 2: 0:04

Are you talking about the stuff from Thanksgiving?

Speaker 1: 0:06

Referrals. Oh, that guy.

Speaker 2: 0:09

That's right. Insurance dudes are on a mission to escape being handcuffed by our agencies.

Speaker 1: 0:16

How? By uncovering the secrets to creating a predictable, consistent and profitable agency sales machine. I am Craig Prutzinger. I am Craig Pritzker. I am Jason Feltman. We are agents, we are insurance students. I'm Jason, the referral renegade Feltman. Welcome back, growth warriors. Today we're unleashing the power of one of the most effective yet often overlooked strategies for growing your agencies, and that's referral marketing. And don't forget I'm going to say this every time Every time I have a different name, I'm going to repeat it within the opening, which is I'm Jason, the referral renegade Feltman.

Speaker 2: 1:01

I love how you're leaning into becoming uncomfortable, and I am craig the word of mouth, wizard pretzinger, and I guess I get to say it twice if you're not actively cultivating referrals, you're leaving a ton of money on the table. But don't worry, we're here to help you change that.

Speaker 1: 1:23

Let's start with why referrals are so insanely valuable. Think about it when a client refers someone to you, they're essentially putting their reputation on the line. They're saying I trust this agency so much I'm willing to recommend them to the people I care about, the people that'll give me crap.

Speaker 2: 1:43

Exactly, yeah. And because of that personal endorsement, referred prospects are more likely to trust you right off the bat. They're predisposed to like you and do business with you, mr Jason.

Speaker 1: 1:58

Not to mention referrals tend to have a higher lifetime value than other types of clients. They're more loyal, less price sensitive and more likely to refer others than themselves. It's the gift that keeps on giving.

Speaker 2: 2:16

But here's the thing Referrals don't just happen by accident, Mr Jason.

Speaker 1: 2:22

No, they don't.

Speaker 2: 2:24

Mr Jason, the referral renegade. That's right To generate a steady stream of high quality referrals, you need to be proactive and you have to be systematic.

Speaker 1: 2:35

Yeah, that's right, mr Craig, 100%. The first step is to understand the psychology of why clients refer. Psychology of why clients refer Typically it's because they've had an exceptional experience with your agency, that they like you right and that they want to help others have the same experience. They feel a sense of loyalty and appreciation.

Speaker 2: 3:01

Yep. And on the flippity flip, there's also psychological barriers that can hold clients back from referring, even if they're happy with you. They might worry about being seen as pushy or might simply forget to do it right. Everybody's busy.

Speaker 1: 3:18

Yep, yep, a hundred percent. That's why it's so important to make referring as easy and natural as possible. One of the best ways to do that is by identifying your agency's best referral sources and nurturing those relationships.

Speaker 2: 3:33

Yeah, think about it. Which clients have already referred you in the past and who have expressed a lot of enthusiasm and appreciation for your services? These are your raving fans, the ones who are most likely to refer you again in the future.

Speaker 1: 3:49

Your agency has raving fans of insurance Raving Well. All right, make a point of staying in touch with these clients. I mean, they're worth their weight in gold, not just about insurance matters, but the personal lives too. They're humans. You can send all kinds of things, like a handwritten note. I know I'm not a big fan of paper, but, dude, there's nothing better than a handwritten note on their birthday. You can have Sally in your office or Bertha in the back do it for you. Why is Bertha in the back? Well, because that's where she sits. Oh, okay, and invite them to exclusive events, like your summer cookouts in front of your agency, like Mr Craig does in his American flag Speedos, or just give them a call to check in and say what up.

Speaker 2: 4:42

I love wearing the American flag Speedos when it's 115 out and we just grill it up. In the tuxen In the tuxen. So another key aspect of building a referral engine because I want to keep to business here, mr Jason is having a systematic approach and process for asking for referrals. So many agents feel awkward about this, but the truth is, if you've provided great service, most clients are happy to refer to you. You just need to ask.

Speaker 1: 5:13

Yeah, the key is to ask at the right time in the right way. Typically, the best time to ask is right after you deliver positive results or experience for your client. They're feeling good about your service and are way more likely to be receptive for your client. They're feeling good about your service and are way more likely to be receptive to your request. This literally just happened recently in our agency. We're getting back into sales, where we weren't allowed to sell in California, and our sales agent just started doing this referral system where he kept asking for referrals. Finally, a few people started being more and more receptive to his referrals and then he would give them a you know, quote them, talk to them for a while and then ask that referral for a referral. And he's been able to daisy chain those and started this domino effect and now he's starting to close a lot of them.

Speaker 2: 6:06

That sounds like a total game changer.

Speaker 1: 6:08

It's a gum changer In terms of how to ask.

Speaker 2: 6:12

You may be wondering. So this is important Be specific, make it easy for them, Instead of saying if you know anyone who needs some insurance, please do me a favor, send them my way, Don't.

Speaker 1: 6:24

Nope, don't do that.

Speaker 2: 6:25

Don't do that.

Speaker 1: 6:25

Don't ever do that.

Speaker 2: 6:27

Try something like hey, we're always looking to help more people like you. If you have any friends or family or colleagues who could benefit and have a great experience like you just did, here's some great ways to get them over to us.

Speaker 1: 6:40

I love how you just told them that they had a great experience, which is a great marketing tactic too. They did have a great experience. Don't be afraid of that. It's not cheesy, because if you you know you should have given them a great experience, let them know that it was a great experience. Who cares? Don't be afraid to offer incentives or rewards, also for successful referrals. I mean, it's like you're buying leads anyways, maybe or maybe not, but we all know leads can be a bit pricey. So if you normally spend X amount on a sale and now somebody gives you a referral, I mean why not cut in half? Yeah, why not give them something, something? It could be something as simple as a gift card to a local coffee shop which I'm sure is starbucks, if you live in this on planet earth or a discount on the next policy renewal, which you can't really do I don't know, but heck, you could, you know, give them a policy review.

Speaker 1: 7:45

I'm sure there's something. Come on, yeah, there's all kinds of stuff. There's something the point is to appreciate, to show the appreciation and to make them feel valued.

Speaker 2: 7:56

Yeah, I mean that's it right. Technology can also play a big role in making referrals easy and trackable. There's tools out there that allow your clients to refer you. With just a couple of clicks right, they can automate the process. We have a process that's worked really well with the email through the. You know you set it up a compliant thing and it goes out and asks for the review and we get a lot of reviews. If you want to see, oh, another, I'm sorry, we get referrals from the reviews and we do get a lot of. I'll bonus my folks on reviews because people look at reviews before they jump on right.

Speaker 1: 8:36

That's a form of referral, sure, yeah, ultimately, though, the best way to generate referrals is by providing exceptional service, which we should be doing this anyways as an agency. You want to be the best right, and you want your team to do this. So if you treat your team well, they should be treating your clients well. When you constantly go above and beyond for your clients, referrals it can happen, naturally, because people want to share that positive experience with others. But you've got to ask, you've got to train your team to ask Totes my goats, yep.

Speaker 2: 9:14

And to recap, so understand number one, the psychology of referrals. Right, understand that they're not going to offer to do the referral and your people aren't going to ask. It's something that you have to initiate. We need to identify and nurture our best referral sources. You could, you know, if you segment your book, you could look at who hits a certain threshold. Maybe they're the best referrals, whatever. Figure out who is the best and then implement a system and process for asking, leverage technology and, above all, provide service. That's worth talking about.

Speaker 1: 9:55

If you do all those things consistently, you'll be amazed at how your referral business starts to grow, and it's not going to be overnight. It will start to grow Like it's incremental at first. So just keep doing this consistently. It's the ultimate form of social proof and can fuel your agency's growth for years to come. And, honestly, it's better than buying leads. I mean, if you're buying leads anyways, this is a way to lower your lead costs by implementing this right, because now you're getting more sales, because it doesn't cost any extra and if you ask every person, you will get a referral 100%.

Speaker 2: 10:37

It's the same way. People say internet leads don't work. Well, they do, but only you close 2%. That's the way it works, right? So you have to buy 100 to get two. That's just the way it works. Yep. So, and you want to put this into action. Guess what? Mr Jason's favorite we got a referral marketing checklist.

Speaker 1: 10:57

Craig loves the checklist. Hey, he's busting them out for you.

Speaker 2: 11:00

Listen to me. If you don't like any of these things, just shoot us an email and I won't make any more. He spends a lot of time on this. No joke, I put these things together because I think that there's value to them and we're going to help you grow, yep. And if not, rip it up, send it back to the office here, and I won't tell Mr Jason that you sent it.

Speaker 1: 11:21

Well, you can Google where Craig's office is. I'm just saying Okay, so you can download this checklist right below in the show notes, and if you have any questions or success stories, please share with us. We'd love to hear from you. You can shoot us an email, leave us a comment on the social medias or Google Craig, yeah, google me.

Speaker 2: 11:45

Why not Remember? Your best clients, though, are really who you should be Googling, because they're going to be your best marketers, and you can empower them to spread the word and watch your business soar to new heights.

Speaker 1: 11:59

Well, I guess that's all for today. Referral rock stars. Ooh, that's right, you heard that from me. Until next time, keep vowing, keep vowing. I'm sorry, mr Craig, I'm starting to get the giggles, but keep wowing your clients all right and keep reaping the referral rewards.

Speaker 2: 12:25

I love a little alliteration. This is Craig, the word of mouth wizard, and.

Speaker 1: 12:30

Jason the referral renegade. Felt man Signing off.