Last week I had an appointment outside of my office, with a supplier, to discuss progress on a project. I arrived a few minutes before the appointed time, sat down at a table and began to work until she arrived. After about 15 minutes, I began to wonder what had happened. She was 10 minutes late and still no word.

I was thinking of leaving when the phone rang. It was the person with whom I was supposed to be meeting. She was parking her car and would be along in a few minutes. In the end she was 30 minutes late, and this wasn’t the first time. A pattern was emerging.

By being late she had moved from a chosen supplier to a source of irritation, but more importantly for her she had only limited time with her customer, I had another appointment to keep.

She short-changed herself and eroded some of the goodwill she had created when she sold me on her services. Even if she does good work for me, there is something negative hovering over her. 

This got me thinking about  Referrability Habits taught by Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach.

  • Show up on time;

  • Say please and thank you;

  • Do what you say you will;

  • Finish what you start.

Nothing complicated here, they are simple and basic but they are important. Unfortunately a lot of people don’t follow them. They are about respect for other people and being reliable. Something all of us in business should be. To the extent you don’t follow them, you undermine trust. Lack of trust causes hesitation, and hesitation kills sales.

Referrals are the cheapest and most effective form of marketing. If you want to be referred, this behaviour is a must. Most people will only refer people they trust.

Remember referrals cost nothing and the close rate is about 500% greater than for other kinds of leads.