Your New Referral Coach Doesn’t Sleep

This week we tore down the worst sentence in referral marketing and rebuilt it with three parts: Why You, Why It Matters, and Who’s Next. Simple. Effective. So let's do our Call to Action today.

Honestly, most people read a post like Wednesday’s, nod, save it, and never use it or get nervous about not being efficient enough and claim it does not work. I mean, the first real ask could very well feel awkward, and nobody wants to sound needy in front of a client they like.

I get it, so this week, I’m giving you a practice partner that won’t judge you, won’t get tired of you, and won’t tell anyone at the chamber breakfast how badly your first attempt went.

This week I want to use AI as your practice buddy. Open voice mode in ChatGPT, Claude, or whatever AI you use. Paste in the prompt below, fill in the brackets, and say your ask out loud. Out loud matters because your ask sounds great in your head; it sounds different when it leaves your mouth.

Here’s the prompt:

“I want to practice asking for a referral. You are going to play [WHO YOU’RE TALKING TO, for example a homeowner whose kitchen I just remodeled]. I am a [YOUR JOB] and I just [WHAT YOU DID FOR THEM]. Stay in character and react like a real person would. Be friendly, but don’t make it easy. If my ask is vague, respond the way most people do, with something like ‘Sure, I’ll keep you in mind.’ If my ask is specific, actually think and try to come up with a name. Let me make the ask and let the conversation play out for a minute or two. When I say ‘end scenario,’ step out of character and grade me using the Live Local three part referral ask. Score each part from 1 to 5. Why You: did I give a specific, sincere reason for asking this person? Why It Matters: did I share a bigger reason, like serving my community, instead of just needing business? Who’s Next: did I name a specific type of person instead of asking for anyone? Then score my delivery: did I sound natural and confident, and keep the ask under thirty seconds? Finish with the one thing I should fix first and a rewritten version of my ask that would score a 5 in all three parts.”

Run it once, then run it again with the fix, and then again and again until it feels as natural as wishing someone good morning. 

When that feels easy, turn up the difficulty:

“Run it again, but this time play someone who is busy, a little distracted, and slightly skeptical. Make me earn the name.”

And if you’ve already been doing Intentional Gives, swap the scenario: have the AI play a business owner you just featured, introduced, or helped. That’s where this ask works best, because you’re not asking for a favor; you’re continuing a relationship that’s already giving.

Now the part where I take away your excuses: “It feels fake.” It’s practice. Athletes practice. Actors rehearse. You rehearse your pitch in the shower anyway; this one just talks back. Will the AI be perfect, no, will it sometimes not understand the nuiance of a conversation, of course, but will you be getting interactive reps, YEP.

“I don’t have time.” The whole exercise takes about ten minutes. You’ve spent longer deciding what to eat for lunch. In fact, I will role play conversations while driving in the car or waiting to pick up my kids from practice, if you have 10-15 minutes, this can work.

“I asked before and it didn’t work.” You asked the old way, Monday covered that, plus we have better prompts, more interactive AI now as well.

“They’ll say no.” Some will, and the ones who say yes will hand you a warm introduction that no ad budget can buy. The ones that say no go into your CRM for your follow-up messages and staying in touch with; you are spending the time with them right now, don't let that relationship go to the bottom drawer.

Here’s the catch: AI is the practice field, not the game. If you role-play ten times and never ask a real person, you just had a nice chat with a robot (who is NEVER going to buy from you, ever). AI is the assistant; you’re still the one who has to show up.

So here’s the challenge, practice your ask with AI this weekend. Then make three real asks before next Friday. Text, in person, or right after a Give; pick your rung from Wednesday, do an audio text or DM, use your preferred method of outreach.

Then come back and tell me in the comments: what score did the AI give your first attempt? Bonus points if you share it, I’ll go first next week.

And if you want a second set of eyes on how your referral marketing plan is working, here’s my calendar: https://calendly.com/livelocalteam/15-minute-marketing-analysis