First things first, has someone asked you to refer something or someone? A good restaurant perhaps, or a potential employee?

Was this the first Thing that came into your head: what is in it for me?

Asking a consumer for a referral is easy, it is getting them to actually give you one that is the difficult part.

Though referrals are important to one's business, the fact of the matter is that consumers would always want to ask and know why in the world should they give you the privilege of one. In short, what is in it for them?

Tips on getting referrals is actually laden with the following common-sense ideas, such as: giving customers a thing of value, or at least something they would want to have.

And by having this also means they are motivated enough to refer friends, family, acquaintances, or just about anybody.

Also, another tried and tested tip of getting referrals is being worth it. This fact beats a lot of the other lame reasons of referring something or someone.

It is a lot easier referring something that is known to be good, has enough credibility to back itself up, that it actually refers itself on its own.

Basically, the most important tip is being or having something everybody wants to want. This is what will most probably ease out your competitor.

This is also what would get people to refer you, by word of mouth is one and the other more hi-tech and complex form of communication is another.

The key is to determine what you want people to know about your business or what you are selling. If you build it, the referrals would surely come.

via Seth Godin