The Scoop On Referrals: Why I Delivered Ice Cream to Intel

Ice cream is awesome. No joke, it might be the best thing in existence. I know this statement somewhat contradicts my previous sentiments about pizza being my favorite food, but ice cream gives pizza a serious run for its money. If you’re familiar with the climate in the Sacramento are, which is where I worked as an agent, you know that summer temperatures are brutal. However, scorching summer days mean there is always an excuse to get a scoop of ice cream.

Ice cream tastes even better when you need a little reprieve from the blistering heat. So it didn’t me long to figure out a way to turn that enjoyment into something beneficial for my business. Intel’s headquarters, which employs thousands of people, wasn’t too far from my office. I had recently closed a real estate deal with one of their employees. As you might recall, I send a bottle of champagne, along with other goodies, to my client’s office. The champagne intentionally created a buzz around the office. Pretty soon, employees were referring me to assist with their coworkers real estate needs.

Eventually, someone referred me to Intel’s HR manager and I helped her purchase a home. This was a huge opportunity. I focused all my energy on developing a strong relationship with her. It didn’t take long before I became the go-to real estate agent for employees looking to relocate to the area. It goes without saying, but this was huge for my business. In fact, because I created so much rapport, I ended up closing six properties in one month from Intel employees alone.

I wanted to give back to these employees that had been good to me. I thought that having an ice cream party at the Intel office would be a great way to show my appreciation. However, as you’re probably familiar with me saying, I wanted to take the ice cream concept and put it on steroids. Showing up with waffle cones and a carton of ice cream wasn’t going to cut it, so I went above and beyond by rolling up in an actual ice cream truck, complete with the jingle blaring, and invited everybody outside for free ice cream.

These ice cream parties became a social event that employees looked forward to. Even though they would only last an hour or so, it gave me a chance to mingle and network with tons of potential clients (and existing clients) all at once while eating ice cream at the same time. Does it get more awesome than that?

I used ice cream, but you could apply the same concept with anything. All you need to focus on is:

• Building rapport. Find a way to connect with people, employees, and businesses. Networking and developing mutually beneficial working relationships is the key towards increasing your referrals.
• Time management. Don’t waste your time with minnows when you can catch the big fish. I worked my way into the Intel trust circle because of how many people I could potentially reach. Maximize your effort by concentrating on highly populated offices, businesses, etc.
• Spend money on what works. I spent a good amount of money on the ice cream parties with Intel, but it worked because of the size of the company and the relationship I built with them.

Now that you have some steps to get started, get out there, sling some scoops, and watch those referrals roll in faster than a brain freeze!

I grew my business strictly by referrals. I had a system in place called Ty’s 35, designed to wow every single client I had. I’m going to share my system with you, week by week, so you too can start working by referral. No more door knocking, no more cold calling, no billboards, and no advertising.

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