4 Tips To Get Referrals
 By Terry M. Blair

Referrals can be the springboard for growing and expanding your small business. They can give your business a bounce by bringing in new clients and customers.

Here are four tips to help you get referrals – over and over again.

1. Ask customers for referrals
After you prove your worth to a customer, you earn the right to request a referral. That means you must deliver your product or service first, to the complete satisfaction of the client.

Once your customers know the value of your products and services, don’t be shy about asking for referrals. Simply ask if your customers know someone else who could benefit from your products and services.

You can make a phone call to request a referral. You can drop clients a letter asking for referrals. Include a self-addressed, stamped postcard that they can return to you with the names of referrals. Or send a customer-satisfaction survey and include space for clients to list referrals.

Don’t assume that satisfied customers will automatically refer new customers to you. It doesn’t work that way. But clients who know you and love your small business will be glad to provide referrals if you just ask.

2. Ask for referrals within a company
If you do business with large companies, look for referrals within the company. Ask your current contact at the company if other departments could benefit from your products and services.

For instance, if you’re a graphic designer you may work with a marketing manager who creates a company’s annual report. Ask that manager if someone in the publications, advertising or Web development departments could use your design services.

3. Develop referral partners
Business coach Gary Lockwood (www.bizsuccess.com) recommends developing a systematic plan for creating referral partners. These are people who can consistently send new clients to you.

Make a list of everyone who might be a source of referrals: banker, accountant, printer, friends, family, suppliers, colleagues in your volunteer organizations and trade associations. Narrow that list to a handful of well-connected individuals.

“To help your referral partners give you solid, qualified referrals, you need to get crystal-clear about what kinds of new clients you want to attract,” advises Lockwood. “When you’re clear about describing the type of recommendations you want, you make it easier for your referral partners to identify prospective customers for you.”

Lockwood recommends answering these kinds of questions to help you identify the specific type of customer referral you want:

• What types of people and companies make the best customers for you?
• What problems do your products or services solve?
• Do you have certain size or volume requirements?
• Are there geographic limitations?

Also think about what you can give your referral in return for helping you find customers.

“Think win-win,” advises Lockwood. “Brainstorm all the various ways in which the referral partner benefits from giving you a recommendation. Be as specific as you can. Each person has individual needs and interests. So be creative in discovering ways in which this person gets value from the referral partner relationship.

Can you reciprocate by sending referrals to your partner? Can you help promote your partner’s business by handing out business cards or providing a link on your Web site?

4. Say thanks
When the referrals come in, show your appreciation. Send thank-you notes to customers who give you referrals. Send a gift to a referral partner or take her to lunch. Make a phone call just to say thanks.

“Behavior that is recognized tends to be repeated,” Lockwood counsels. “Showing your appreciation is not only the polite thing to do, but it’s also a smart way to encourage more referrals.”

(Posted September 2004)

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