How well do you really know your referring partners?

If you have been around me for any length of time, you know how strongly I feel about building relationships in your business.

That seems like a “Captain Obvious” question, I know, but if I were to ask you the birthday month of your referring partner, would you know it? What about their favorite sports team, or if they like sports at all? Are you sending them a bottle of wine each Christmas, without knowing whether they drink or not? (I get wine every year from well meaning vendors or clients, and I do not drink wine).

Sending out the same, generic gifts or monthly deliveries to your partners does not scream, “I really appreciate you and want to build a relationship.” You have to do better if you want to stand out.

So how do you stand out, when every other orthodontist in the area is trying to get their attention as well?

According to influence expert and author Robert Cialdini (Influence, Pre-Suasion), you will make a bigger impression on people when you can give them something 1- personalized, 2- unique and 3- unexpected.

However, many times the monthly deliveries to the offices are generic and don’t implement Dr Cialdini’s suggestions.

Here is a unique way to get to know your referring doctors better by asking them about their interests.

Simply use the QR code connected to a Google form to collect “Get To Know You” details like birthdays, favorite foods/movies/teams,hobbies, etc.

If you are holding an event where the doctors will be present, hand out the QR code on small business cards and ask them to take a moment and fill it out. Or you can send the card in your next month’s deliveries and ask them to scan it because you want to get to know them better.

What do you ask? There are multiple questions you can ask from favorite movie to food. Here are some example questions to get you started:

Date of birth
Favorite color
What are your favorite cuisines?

American
Chinese
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Mexican
Vegetarian
Other:

4. Favorite Restaurants

5. Favorite snack

Cheesy
Chocolate
Salty
Sour
Spicy
Sweet
Other:

6. What are your favorite birthday cake flavors?

Carrot
Cheesecake
Chocolate
Fruit
Funfetti
Red Velvet
Vanilla
Other:

7. What type of beverages besides water do you prefer?

Coffee
Tea
Beer
Cider
Spirits
Wine
Other:

8. If you chose an alcoholic beverage, what brand do you prefer?

9. What are your favorite retail stores?

Amazon
Apple
Best Buy
Target
Ulta Beauty
Walmart
Other

10. What sports do you enjoy?

Baseball
Basketball
Football
Gold
Soccer
Tennis
Volleyball

11. Your favorite way to spend a night out?

Dinner and a movie
Theater
Sports Event
Concert
Stay In
Event Center (Top Golf, Dave & Busters, etc)

12. Who’s your favorite sports team?

13. Who is your favorite music artist or band?

14. What decade/ type of music do you prefer?

15. Do you prefer going to

Movies
Plays
Local theater
Quiz nights
other:

16. What is your T-shirt size?

17. What kind of gifts do you prefer?

Apparel
Experiences/ Performances
Flowers/Plants
Food
Gift Cards/Certificates
Technology/Digital
Other:

18. Do you have a hobby?

19. Do you collect anything? (stamps, coins, baseball cards, unicorns)

20. Do you have sport you love to play?

21. What is one thing you want but wouldn’t buy yourself?

22. Would you be interested in a lunch-and-learn from our office?

Not only is this a great way to create a database that you can draw from to build a better relationship with your doctors, they will feel like you actually care. It will make your decision making on what to get them a lot easier.

Proactive, Productive and Profitable,

Dino Watt