Referral sources can be a consistent source of leads if you learn to cultivate them properly.  When developing your own network of referral sources, whether it is attorneys, accountants, real estate agents, financial planners or whomever you are focusing on, it may take some time.  They may not initially understand what you can do for them or for their clients. 

     A potential referral source may not know you from Adam when you first approach them, so you must continually keep your name in front of them on a regular basis with business cards, letters, postcards, faxes, flyers, e-mail and even occasional phone calls.  Use whatever it takes so that they hear from you at least once every month or two, if not more.  It may take a while for your referral source to recognize that one of his or her clients either needs or could use your services. 

     Even if they refer a potential lead to you, there is no guarantee that the lead will turn into a closed transaction and a check for you.  A referral source may be able to refer only one lead per year to you or possibly one lead per day.  You have no way of knowing until you begin to cultivate your referral base.    Going into my fourteenth year in business, I have had the opportunity to develop and cultivate my referral sources over a long period of time. 

     One of the ways that has worked tremendously for me over the years is a simple hand-written thank you card or letter with several business cards or brochures sent with it.  On every transaction that I close I will send one of these thank you cards to every potential referral source that was involved in the transaction.  If we used a title company, I will send one to my contact person there.  If there was an attorney involved, I will send one to him or her as well as to real estate agents, mortgage brokers, appraisers, escrow companies, servicing agents, closing companies, other financial institutions, etc.      

     They now become confident that if they refer one of their clients to me they know that I will take care of them properly.  I, of course, will keep in touch with them as often as I can and I will try to use their services in the future when I have a transaction that they can help me with as well.    

     How does  such a simple gesture work so well?  My contacts now KNOW that I can get a transaction  done and that I can do what I say that I can do because we have already done a transaction that they, or their clients, were involved in.  Every year I close a nice percentage of my transactions from leads that I received from my referral sources.   

     Another simple way that I have received referrals is by simply inserting my business card in every piece of outgoing mail.  I will put my business card in with my check for my mortgage payment, gas bill, water and power bills, insurance bills, etc.  Every single bill, letter or correspondence that I mail out always has my business card in it.  You never know who might be receiving payments on some form of income stream or if they have a need for cash.  This is a very easy way to start getting your name out there and generate calls.   I am often asked what I give to my referral sources when I do close a transaction that they have referred to me.  I usually do not pay cash except to real estate agents and business brokers because they are always hungry for cash.  A referral fee of 1% of the balance of the note or 10% of my commission is what I would give to them.  Preferably, I like to send them a gift or surprise of some kind: maybe tickets to the game (baseball, basketball, football, etc.), tickets to a show or movie, Harry and David gift baskets, American Express Gift Checks, Gift Certificates or (my favorite) a muffin basket! What? A muffin basket?  That may sound strange but there is a logical reason behind it.  When the muffin basket arrives at your referral source’s place of business, don’t you think that there are other people in the office? 

     Of course there are: other attorneys, paralegals, accountants, CPAs, real estate agents, whatever.  Each person that passes by and grabs a muffin is going to ask where the muffins came from, and then, by word of mouth (or muffin), I have just tapped into an entire office of potential referral sources!