Almost every small business I meet gets most of their clients from referrals. However, almost all of them agree that they’re not getting enough clients.
Well, I’m here to help speed up your lead pipeline. There are 5 ways that I get referrals that I think you might find useful.
The first way to get a referral is through your existing clients. They think you’re the cat’s meow because hellooooooooo-they’re already working with you! Your clients’ success is a cause for celebration and what better way to celebrate than to suggest they tell others about how well they’re doing?
The second way to get referrals is to niche properly. In other words, when people actually understand and are able to remember exactly who you help and what you help them do, you will get more referrals.
The third way to get referrals is to send a thousand thank yous. When you do get referrals, recognize them in some significant way. Nobody HAS to refer you or remember your name or even take the trouble of forwarding your information to anyone. They do so because they believe you can help their friend. Don’t take it for granted.
The fourth way to get referrals is to Do Onto Others. This is a version of ‘you scratch my back and –well you get the idea…’ in reverse. You MAKE it your business to help those who have connections to your ideal clients and everybody wins. Remember never to expect anything in return and almost Saint yourself referring your heart off to everyone else. I guarantee you will get more referrals if you give more referrals.
The fifth and last way I get referrals is to actually have a cross referral program which tells ideal joint venture partners up front that I can actually provide them with a gift for thinking of me to refer to first. The last bit of advice about referrals is about follow-up. If you aren’t following up your referrals properly, you’re missing an obvious opportunity but you’re also letting down your referring partner. So pull up your follow-up socks and don’t forget to wine, dine and drop a line to your referrals.
Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook, watch me on YouTube or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk