It was once said to me that everyone knows at least 300 people. So asking one person for a referral means you’re taping into their network of 300 people.
When I first set up my business in 2006, I used networking and referrals to grow my business. I joined two networking groups – Network Dublin and BNI. What I discovered then stood with me and I still practice it today – all referrals are not created equally. You could get a referral but quite honestly, it means nothing.
That’s why I’ve emphasised ‘Good’ in the title – good referrals.
Here are three easy ways to get good referrals today:
1. Ask for Them
I’m not being funny but I know a lot of people who don’t ask. They wait to have a referral volunteered. This is how some referral conversations go:
“I do marketing for professional service companies.”
“Oh, so you do marketing for accountants? I know a few accountants.”
“That’s great. Thanks.”
That’s not an ask. Now I had to do an experiment for 31 days to ask people things…asking is not easy for some people. It isn’t for me but not asking for referrals is not going to help grow my business or help struggling accountants or other professional service companies get new clients or keep existing ones.
You need a process of asking that works. Just ask.
2. Be clear on who you want
In order to ask for referrals, you must be clear on who you want as a referral. All referrals are not created equally, that’s why I said good referrals.
I work with all types of professional service companies and B2B companies. If I’m asking for a referral, I don’t leave it to ‘B2B’ companies, I ask for a particular referral. This month I might be looking for accountants, next month solicitors, the month after that marketers or HR agencies.
When you’re asking, you need to be clear on who exactly you want as a referral. Be as specific as you can.
3. Put it on your email signature
This is something that I know has worked for clients so I’m going to try it myself. A simple sentence at the bottom of your email signature reminds people that you are looking for referrals.
Now, it’s not as direct as asking for them in point no. 1 above. But it is a gentle reminder. I’m going to try it for a month and see how I get on.
Try a variation of this:
“A referral remains the highest compliment we can receive – if you know anyone who would benefit from our services we would be grateful for the introduction and recommendation.”
If you’d like to talk to me about referrals (there are plenty more tactics and strategies), then please email me. I have way more referral tools in my tool-kit.
