Wow, I didn't expect all the emails about yesterday's newsletter.
If you recall, I was astonished by the lawyer who told me that he didn't pay referral fees because he didn't believe in them.
Then I told you, from a business perspective, that was a HUGE mistake.
I received a bunch of emails from doctors, some lawyers and other professionals who told me that either they were ethically barred from sending money for referrals (fee-splitting) or that it "wasn't the standard in the industry."
Sorry, but that's no excuse:
The Worst Thing You Can Do
Is to Ignore the Referral and
Not Thank the Referring Party Somehow!
You mean to tell me that there's no possible thing you can do to show your appreciation? (By the way, if it is truly not the "standard" in your industry to reward referrals, then this is an opportunity to really stand out from the crowd.)
While giving a direct fee split may be unethical in some cases, there are other things you can do (I'm not telling you to do anything unethical -- check the ethics rules for your profession).
For example:
1. Can you send the referring person a gift card for a fancy dinner for two?
2. Is it possible to give a pair of tickets to a sporting event (once all the social distancing stuff clears)?
3. How about gifting them a personalized illustration or art piece for their office? I've done this many times.
4. Here's an idea -- cater a nice lunch for their staff.
5. Or maybe you can send the person a gift wrapped Cartier or Tiffany gift. I've also done this before -- I sent a beautiful pair of Tiffany cuff links to a lawyer for a referral and he loved it! I received at least two or three more referrals after that.
6. Or, at the very least, you can send a box of cookies to say thank you. The photo above is the shipment of Mrs. Field's cookies I received for sending a referral. Guess what? I think of that person every time I see a Mrs. Field's product.
And I can go on and on...
The point I'm trying to convey is PLEASE do not ignore referrals -- even if the most you're allowed to do is send a gift basket. Frankly, it's bad manners and even more worse business sense.
If you can't send a check then find another way to show appreciation within your ethical bounds.
