How to Handle Referrals

Hi all,

When I get business referred to me, I'm not sure how to handle the ethics of
speaking about the referred business to the "friend, business associate,
referrer, etc".

An example from a referrer about a referred client would be, "So, how are
things going with XYZ?" or "Has XYZ called you yet?" and I'm not sure if I
should say anything at all. My gut reaction is to not talk about it but I'm
not sure how to do that without offending the referrer because I appreciate
the "word-of-mouth" advertising.

Sometimes I don't even mention the referred business until the referrer
mentions it to me and even then I want to show my appreciation to the
referrer as soon as I find out about the referral. I feel like I'm in a
conundrum, an awkward place to be.

Any thoughts?

Isabelle
http://www.is.visisoul.com

Thinks to myself.... *I sure have used the word 'refer' a lot in this
post... ugh!*

Isabelle wrote:

When I get business referred to me, I'm not sure how to handle the
ethics of speaking about the referred business to the "friend,
business associate, referrer, etc".

Depends on the relationship the referer has with the client. It may be
relevant if the referer is also a supplier to that client. It is part of
normal business to discuss such things where appropriate.

An example from a referrer about a referred client would be, "So, how
are things going with XYZ?" or "Has XYZ called you yet?" and I'm not
sure if I should say anything at all. My gut reaction is to not talk
about it but I'm not sure how to do that without offending the
referrer because I appreciate the "word-of-mouth" advertising.

I think you can be vaguely non-commital without causing offence. Remember
if talking about it makes you uncomfortable then it was probably
inappropriate for them to ask in the first place.

Sometimes I don't even mention the referred business until the
referrer mentions it to me and even then I want to show my
appreciation to the referrer as soon as I find out about the
referral. I feel like I'm in a conundrum, an awkward place to be.

I suggest you take each occurrence on its merits. If the referal is in
itself a normal part of your business relationship with the referer then I
see no reason why you shouldn't let them know that a project is underway -
details are not compulsory. You can always hide behind client
confidentiality.

--
William Tasso - http://WilliamTasso.com

In article <39Clb.3977$aw5.282373 (AT) news20 (DOT) bellglobal.com> in
comp.infosystems.www.authoring.site-design, Isabelle
<isabelleREMOVECAPS (AT) REMOVEZETHECAPSis (DOT) visisoul.com.invalid> wrote:

When I get business referred to me, I'm not sure how to handle the ethics of
speaking about the referred business to the "friend, business associate,
referrer, etc".

Hmm, I'm not sure what this has to do with site design, but what the
heck.

Your answer depends very heavily on what level of confidentiality
your customers or clients have a right to expect. For instance, when
I volunteered in a medical clinic I was told that a doctor cannot
ethically confirm or deny that a particular person is a patient.
(There's an exception, I believe, for referral from one doctor to
another doctor for a particular purpose. But suppose I, a college
instructor, happen to have Dr. X as my doctor, and another
instructor asks me to recommend a doctor. It would be out of line
for me to ask Dr. X later if my friend ever came for a visit, and
even more out of line for the doctor to answer.)

On the other hand, if you sell office supplies, and someone has
referred a customer to you, it would probably be good manners to
thank them for the referral.

--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Cortland County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com/
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validator: http://validator.w3.org/
CSS 2 spec: http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-CSS2/
2.1 changes: http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS21/changes.html
validator: http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/

Thanks to William and Stan for their suggestions. This was the incorrect
group to have posted this! doh! My apologies.

Isabelle

"Isabelle" <isabelleREMOVECAPS (AT) REMOVEZETHECAPSis (DOT) visisoul.com.invalid> wrote
in message news:39Clb.3977$aw5.282373 (AT) news20 (DOT) bellglobal.com...

Hi all,

When I get business referred to me, I'm not sure how to handle the ethics
of
speaking about the referred business to the "friend, business associate,
referrer, etc".

An example from a referrer about a referred client would be, "So, how are