Third Base Is Introductions: Why Brad Noll Stopped Asking for Referrals
Relationships · From Student of the Game
Third Base Is Introductions: Why Brad Noll Stopped Asking for Referrals
Brad Noll has a confession. For years, he kept talking about referrals. He wanted more of them, he was never too busy for them, and he let everyone know he was looking for them. Then he realized something. That mindset was really about finding the next person he could sell something to.
In part three of his Student of the Game series on the Relationships Win framework, Brad sets out to change listeners' minds about the word referral. Third base, he says, is introductions. And the most important introductions are not the ones you receive. They are the ones you give.
He also has a lighter reason for the change. When his kids get a referral at school, it means a trip to the principal's office.
Giving Introductions Is the Active Version
Brad recaps the first two bases. First base is connect: getting outside your comfort zone to reach people. Second base is conversation, where trust is built. Between those two bases, he says, character gets built. The traditional next step would be to ask for a referral and wait for a sale.
Brad calls that passive. Yes, the more people you connect and talk with, the more introductions will come your way. But the active approach is different. "If you want introductions from other people, you have to be willing to go give introductions and add value to other people's lives," he says. If you feel stuck and want more of something, go give more value to others.
He recently found the same idea in a song his kids were listening to, If You Want Love by the artist NF. The theme is that if you want love or trust, you have to give it away first. Brad applies it to business: if you want more introductions, you have to introduce more people. "You have to be the straw that stirs the drink."
“I would rather be influential than an influencer. And influential is going to continue to add value to people's lives.”
Brad Noll
Referrals Are Event Driven, Introductions Are Relationship Driven
Brad explains the difference this way. A referral only happens when someone is going through an event, like being ready to buy or sell a home, and you cannot time that. An introduction can happen any day, because anyone can connect anyone.
His team's mission is to help create confident homeowners, which means serving people long after they move in. Someone Brad helped buy a home 20 years ago might need a painter, a carpet cleaner, a financial advisor, or an attorney to help with an inherited property. Brad even introduces people to his car salesman. None of that is a home sale, but all of it helps someone.
It works in the other direction too. If Brad meets you for coffee and you know a great tradesperson he needs, he is not asking for a referral to a buyer. He is asking for an introduction that helps him serve his clients.
Be Influential, Not an Influencer
Brad comes back to one of his favorite books, The Go-Giver, and its law of influence: your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people's interests first. Everyone talks about influencers on social media, and Brad is not complaining about how that system works. "I would rather be influential than an influencer," he says.
An introduction costs you nothing but a little time, and it helps someone win immediately. That is why Brad thinks connecting others is one of the most overlooked growth strategies in business. "Instantly you're building credibility," he says. "Instantly you're building a relationship."
Introductions also take the pressure off. Brad says people often hesitate to put their name behind a referral. An introduction, made by group text, email, or by sending a friend the link to his team's online questionnaire, feels lighter. Brad borrowed the questionnaire idea from his doctor's office, where an intake form meant the physician already knew the basics before walking in. Once an introduction is made, Brad tells his team, the sale has already been made. Now the job is to listen, be the guide, and solve the problem.
Humility Is What Elevates You
Brad's family and company chose elevate as their word of the year, and their verse of the year says whoever humbles himself will be elevated. He points out that people often get it backward, trying to elevate themselves. Being elevated, he says, is a byproduct of where you posture your heart and mind.
That is why he sees introductions as humbling. They say this moment is not about me, it is about you. Brad runs every base through his team's first core value, serve others. Connecting to make a sale serves yourself. Going into a conversation to serve means you ask more than you talk. At third base, serving others means asking who the person in front of you needs to meet.
Brad has been one of the top 10 agents in Fort Wayne for a decade, and people often ask how he got there. His answer is an acronym: HOW stands for help others win.
How Do You Start Giving More Introductions?
Brad's challenge applies whether you are in sales or not. He mentions stay-at-home parents, grandparents, and people working nine to five. Anyone can make introductions.
- Introduce three people a day to someone who could make their life better.
- Think beyond business: a coach, a teacher, a counselor, or a doctor can be the introduction someone needs.
- Start where you already are, even with the people you see at daycare drop-off.
- When you need help, ask for an introduction, not a referral.
- Stay consistent. Brad says stacking this day after day is how people become an overnight success.
Brad admits it is hard to do every day with inspections, negotiations, and a growing team to manage. But when he simplifies how his business got where it is, the answer is the same. His team helps other people win, and that usually happens through an introduction. As he puts it, give it out in slices and it comes back in loaves.
▶ Listen to the full episode
Relationship Framework Introductions, on Student of the Game.
Work with the Noll Team
Ready to make your move?
Since 2003, Noll Team Real Estate has been helping people in the Fort Wayne area find the freedom to live the lifestyle they want. Tell us where you are headed and we will build the plan around your life.