This Blog is a bit longer than usual.  But don't worry, I used smaller words, so it all evens out.

Is this familiar?

You're talking to someone who says 'can you recommend a …..?'   One person with a problem asks another person for help in finding a solution.

It's also where the vast majority of your business as a professional or small firm comes from.

There are three things to keep in mind.

Thing One

It's not yet about expertise , more 'this person could be what you are looking for'.  It may be that the referrer has no firsthand knowledge, the question is essentially about possibilities, whoever comes to mind (whomever, if you are seeking an English tutor).  Vetting comes later.

Thing Two

It is not an exhaustive list , it is the person who comes to mind.  It means narrowing of focus, in fact, the more specific and narrow the better.  You don't have a data base in your mind (you do, but it is doubtful you could access every name right away) but if the question is specific as to the particular skill required and you are known for that skill or expertise, that specialisation tilts the response very decidedly in your direction.

Thing Three

Remember, you're not at the meeting, so you are dependent on your referrer.  No one can remember your positioning statement as a specialise in "cross-collateralised discrepancies, yada, yada".   There is a problem to be solved, the referrer does not need to know how you solve problems, the precise words of what you do really don't matter.  It's about being easy to remember , that's all that counts for now.

The Bottom Line

The vast majority of people with whom you interact every day are not potential buyers of your services.  Not today.  Not ever.  Hard, but true.

But … all of these people are capable to tell other people about you, whenever the question arises 'do you know someone who can …..?'   (Ahem 'Improve family business profits, cash flow and tax!').

Your job is therefore to make word of mouth work for you, to describe your work using words – simple, narrow, specific, easy to remember words – that line up with the problems people commonly have.