Michelle O'Hara, Director - Connection Central
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Here's an uncomfortable question to start with: “If a colleague or friend of yours needed exactly the products or services you offer, would they actually know to come to you?
Not "Could they vaguely recall you do something in that space." Would they know, with confidence, to make the introduction?
If you hesitated, you are not alone. Most businesses assume they're referable simply because people like them. However, being liked and being referable, are two very different things. This article walks through why referrals matter so much, how to test whether your business is actually set up to receive them, and the seven things every referable business has in common.
The numbers make the case on their own.
84% of business in Australia comes from referrals.
Not ads. Not cold outreach. Word of mouth.
This is especially true in tight-knit business communities like Brisbane, where the same people tend to show up at the same events, sit on the same boards, and know each other's reputations long before they know each other's pitch decks. In that kind of environment, local trust consistently outweighs advertising.
There's also a practical, bottom-line reason to care: referred customers are cheaper to acquire and more loyal than customers you chase down yourself. And beyond the immediate sale, being genuinely referable opens the door to collaboration opportunities, the kind of partnerships that compound over time rather than ending at a single transaction.
So the real question isn't should you be referable. It's are you, and how would you know?
Here's a simple exercise worth trying with a colleague, a networking partner, or even a friend who doesn't know your business well.
Step 1: Pair up with someone.
Step 2: Give yourself 2 minutes. On your phone, Google the other person's name plus their company name. Pull up their LinkedIn profile and their company website if you can find them. Don't just glance, spend a couple of minutes genuinely reading what comes up.
Step 3: Answer three questions about your partner, based only on what you found:
Step 4: Swap. Your partner does the same search on you and answers the same three questions.
The results are often revealing. Many businesses look impressive online but leave a stranger unable to answer that third question with confidence, and if a stranger can't answer it after two minutes of research, neither can the acquaintance who might otherwise refer you.
If the Google Test exposed some gaps, here's the framework for closing them. These are the seven traits that consistently separate businesses that get referred from businesses that don't.
Referable businesses understand who their client goes to before them and after them in their journey. Knowing your place in that chain, and who sits on either side of it, is what makes you a strong strategic partner, not just a standalone service provider. You then have a plan of who you are looking for.
You can say who you help and what problem you solve in one sentence, without jargon. If it takes a paragraph, or a job title, to explain what you do, referrals become hard to make. People can't refer what they can't quickly explain to someone else.
Your website, your LinkedIn, and how you introduce yourself in person should all say the same thing. Referable businesses don't have a "networking version" of their pitch and a different "official" version online. The story lines up everywhere.
When someone Googles you or your business, what they find should match what you actually do. This is the direct payoff of the Google Test. If your digital footprint tells a different (or outdated, or vague) story, you're relying on people to already know you well enough to look past it.
Make it easy for someone to see evidence that you're good (testimonials, case studies, reviews) rather than asking people to simply take your word for it. Proof does the convincing work that a referral alone can't always do.
This is the one people skip. Referable businesses actually ask connections and happy clients for referrals, they don't wait and hope it happens organically. If you've done great work for someone, asking isn't pushy. It's giving them an easy, welcome way to help you.
When someone does refer you, deliver so well that it makes them look good for the introduction, and then thank them for it. Follow-through is what turns a one-off referral into a repeat source of business.
Practice, Practice, Practice: Making the Elevator Test Second Nature
Knowing the framework is one thing. Being able to use it on the spot, without thinking, is another — and that only comes from repetition.
Here's how to build it:
Say your pitch out loud, not in your head. Give yourself 20 seconds to describe who you help and what problem you solve — no company jargon, no job titles, plain English. Do this daily until it stops sounding rehearsed.
Test it on real questions. Next time someone asks "so what do you do?", resist the urge to give your usual answer. Use the framework instead, and notice where you stumble or reach for jargon.
Check it against the referral line. After you say it, ask yourself: would someone who just met me be able to finish the sentence "So I'd send you someone who needs ___"? If you can't fill that blank clearly yourself, the pitch needs another pass.
Refine, don't rewrite. Small edits beat starting over. If a phrase gets a blank stare, swap that one phrase and try again — you're sanding down the same pitch, not building a new one each time.
The goal isn't a polished script. It's a pitch that holds up unscripted, under pressure, in the fifteen seconds you actually get.
Referability isn't luck, and it isn't just about being well-liked. It's a set of deliberate, learnable habits: strategic positioning, a clear one-line pitch, consistent messaging, an accurate digital footprint, visible proof, the willingness to ask, and genuine follow-through.
Before you go into your next networking event, take a minute to write down the one-sentence version of what you do and who you help, the version you'd want someone to use when referring you to a friend. Then use it. Say it out loud. See how people respond, and how easily they can send someone your way.
Because the goal isn't to chase more strangers. It's to build a business that people already know exactly how to recommend.
