Leverage your ability to refer
You can leverage your referrals by making them available to anyone – whether a buying customer or not.
Put them on your website under a heading: ‘People We Trust’, refer at business meetings or coffee catch ups.
Refer often and refer well.
Just make sure that the referrals are appropriate and your personal stock in your local business community will
soar.
2. Keep your best customers
This one is easy - if you refer your CLIENTS to others, they will be more likely to refer you, and continue buying
from you. Studies show that a customer of yours that you refer to others is more likely to buy again from you
than other existing but non-referred customers and clients.
A nice simple pay off for referring appropriately.
3. Create business relationships
You need to remember one thing above all:
never give referrals to companies that don’t
deserve them. Even if they could generate more
business for you, you’ll lose in the long run if your
referrals aren’t trustworthy.
Referrals work both ways
The key to getting referrals from the companies you
refer to, is to ask for it. You’ll often miss out on
referral opportunities just because the other
company doesn’t know you or know that you want
referrals as well.
But what if they don’t know you? Simple; arrange a
meeting with them to discuss what you do – making
clear it is about creating a return referral situation
and not to pitch for a sale.
(But if your offering is relevant to them you may even
pick up a sale!)
In addition to being known to the other company you also need to fulfil the first two recommendations for
giving referrals: you need to be relevant to their customers and you need to deliver a referral-worthy service.
More than ever in this Social media world referrals mean business and taking the time to master giving and
asking for them will make your business all the better.
Be well.
Sincerely,
Geoff Hetherington
JG Hetherington: The Dancing Blind Man Business Advisors
DBM| ABN: 77 835 948 613 | Phone: 0427136770 | Email: [email protected]
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