Want a System to Connect to Referral Partners?

My definition of a referral partner is an individual that you have a relationship with and sends prospective leads to a business.

I created this COIN Framework to help provide a system for my clients to really cherish their relationships with their referral partners (this system can be applied to clients as well!).

COIN Framework

C - Create a system to track referrals

O - Organize and send thank yous

I - Interact & stay top of mind

N - Nurture and send the “right” gift

Let’s break it down….

C - Create a system to track referrals - Tracking data is helpful for so many things. If you want to lose weight, you want to track your food and see what you are actually eating. The same goes for tracking referrals. It’s vital to know who is recommending you, who they are recommending and how often. I use a combination of an excel spreadsheet to track my yearly referrals as well as a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) called Less Annoying CRM. It’s a simple CRM tool that’s not trying to be fancy or complicated.

I also gather info from my referral partners so I know their birthday, if they like tea or coffee, what their favorite activities are and more and store it in Less Annoying CRM. I get lots of physical addresses (so I can send actual mail!) from people which leads me to the next item...

O - Organize and send thank you's - sending handwritten thank you's and cards helps you stand out from the crowd. Can you remember the last time you got a nice piece of mail in your business PO Box? Sending a handwritten thank you or card can help you stand out in all of the virtual interactions we have. I know a business coach who said she had a client who started sending her newsletters via snail mail vs. email to make an impact. If you’ve never met that person in real life, you can also send your business card with a handwritten note to make an impact on something tangible.

The trick is to have blank thank you and note cards and stamps on hand so when you WANT to write a note, nothing will hold you back. 

I - Interact & stay top of mind - if you don’t check in and remind people you appreciate them, then nothing happens. It’s very psychological, if you give positive energy to someone, they are much more likely to remember you and recommend you. I recommend connecting with your referral partners once a quarter (every 3 months). Using the Less Annoying CRM, you can set up a system to remind you to do this and track when you’ve contacted them.

It can be simple - the point of contact can be an email or a phone call which turns into a Zoom meeting or having a coffee or lunch together. I've experimented with sending personalized videos saying hi and checking in. It really depends on the person, but I recommend knowing the person and how they like to be communicated with and finding their “love language.” Maybe Jill, your referral partner, loves getting an email to check in, however, Sam really likes the custom video you sent because it really grabbed his attention.

The message can be simple: How are you? What projects are you working on? Can I support you? Ask a more direct question about someone in their work or personal life you’d like to know more about. Being personable helps a ton.

N - Nurture and send the “right” gift - I find that I love to reward someone who referred a great client to me and finding the right gift to send to them helps a lot.  Something that’s useful and custom is always a great, thoughtful gift. An example could be a cutting board with your referral partner’s name engraved on it or a travel coffee mug with photos of your referral partner’s favorite vacation spot. The more creative you can be, the better.

Places like Etsy and BoxFox can be a great place to find custom gifts. Again, it’s good to know your referral partner so you can give a very thoughtful gift. I know that even something as simple as a book you know they will get value from and enjoy can go a long way.

Are you already practicing one or more of the C.O.I.N. Framework? How can you integrate some of these practices into your business to help keep you “top of mind” with your referral partners?