QUESTION: What’s the best way to get my clients to refer me to other clients? - Paula Granger, AK
The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council, an advocacy group founded by serial entrepreneur Scott Gerber that works to take action against youth unemployment by teaching young people how to build successful companies. The council’s members include Generation Y entrepreneurs and experts in a variety of fields.
Treat them like gods
If you can create a product/service that improves when more people use it. The reason why Facebook is so massive is because it’s beneficial to me when my friends are on it so I encourage them to join – essentially advocating for Facebook. Also, if your product/service makes a promise and you actually keep it that helps. If you go above and beyond, forget about it.
Adam Gilbert (@mybodytutor) of My Body Tutor
Reward Referrals
First of all, you have to earn a referral from your client. To do this I like to live by the “under-promise, over-deliver” mantra and build lasting relationships with the clients I work with. To increase the number of referrals you receive, reward your clients with discounts or free products/services for the referrals they make. A referral rewards program can be a goldmine for your business!
Natalie MacNeil (@nataliemacneil) of ShaTakesOnTheWorld.net – Facebook
Have new clients come to you.
I’ve discovered that the best way to get client referrals is to not ask the clients at all. When I started my business, I focused on attracting and serving the market-leading clients in my industry. Once these companies bought into my marketing product, their rivals took notice and then approached me to set up similar partnerships. Attract the industry mavens first–others will follow.
Eric Bahn (@beatthegmat) of BeatTheGMAT.com – Facebook
Be Up Front and Honest with Customers
Be upfront and honest with customers from the start and they will love you for it. As customers, we all want to know what we’re getting into when we work with or use a business. If the ground rules are covered at the beginning then there is less miscommunication later on. Just always remember to think about what would make you want to spread the word about a great business and go from there.
Ashley Bodi (@businessbeware) of Business Beware – Facebook
Let Them Pay With Referrals!
Let your client choose to pay for his purchase in a combination of cash & referral bonus. Let’s say a client’s purchase from you is $1K, client pays a fraction $500 in cash & the rest $500 s/he promise to earn as a referral bonus, i.e. @10% referral bonus, the client would refer a total of at least $5K business to you in next 6 months, & if not, then s/he pays cash (the unearned bonus). Simple.
Devesh Dwivedi (@Break9to5Jail) of EntrepreneurInMaking.com – Facebook
Digital Referrals and “Word of Mouse” Marketing
The best way to get your clients to refer you to other clients is via social media “word of mouse” viral marketing. Digital testimonials, specifically on LinkedIN, Facebook and Twitter are great ways to share past testimonials of work completed with your entire network! People are more likely to trust peer reviews and recommendations as opposed to ads. Digital referrals are the best referrals!
Kris Ruby (@sparklingruby) of Ruby Media Group – Facebook
Referral Ease
Make it as easy as possible for people to share information about you such as providing a “forward to a friend” link on your e-newsletter or a template of an introduction e-mail.
Elizabeth Saunders (@RealLifeE) of Real Life E – Facebook
Ask Clients for a List
Once you have a good relationship with your clients physically hand them a piece of paper with five blank lines and ask them to provide the contact information for a few friends who would be interested in your service. They will be motivated to help their friends by passing on your service and you will now have a shared connection with these new leads because they came from a trusted source.
Lucas Sommer (@audimated) of Audimated – Facebook
5 Easy Steps to More Client Referrals
1. Ask respectfully. 2. Provide an excellent service/product. 3. Offer a reward/incentive. This does not have to be monetary. Be creative. Sometimes a drawing for “Lunch with the company founder” is enough. 4. Fine tune your “story” – a story people will talk about and remember. 5. Use widgets and buttons on your site that make it VERY easy to share your product/service.
Kent Healy (@Kent_Healy) of Don’t Get Burned Blog – Facebook
Reward Referrals & Deliver Outstanding Service
The best way to get client referrals is to ensure that your existing clients are DELIGHTED your business. This means constantly communicating with your clients, being accessible, and surveying clients to ensure they rate you 10/10 on every aspect of your offering (and fixing things if they don’t). What gets rewarded gets repeated, so be sure to reward referrals with thank you cards or gifts.
Matt Mickiewicz (@sitepointmatt) of 99designs
Deliver a strong product
The best way to get referrals from your current clients is to deliver a strong product, which exceeds expectations, and then directly ask them to refer you. This way, your clients will know that you’re confident in your product and will be thinking about people to refer you to in their networks.
Dan Schawbel (@danschawbel) of Millenial Branding – Facebook
Just Ask.
You have to ask. It is amazing how few companies actually ask their customers for referrals and while it is great to get the 100% natural referral might as well get what you can. The key to both getting referrals and keeping your customers happy is only ask when you have done something great for them, not just regular day to day stuff, but something different that really helped them.
David Hauser (@dh) of Grasshopper Group
Link Referrals to Key Value Deliveries
Your existing clients are sacred – you already fought hard to win their initial business, and invested tremendous resources to deliver on your promises. Therefore, client value should always exceed ‘client ask’ i.e. make sure you over deliver on value rather than constantly ask for references and pitch upsells. The best time to ask an existing client for a referral is after a key value delivery.
Joel Backaler (@joelbackaler) of The China Observer
Bribe them (legally, that is!)
Offer your clients a percentage of any of the sales they bring in. Better yet, award them with attractive discounts toward future purchases (so that you don’t need to shell out any cash and you guarantee another future purchase. Make them rich, so they will in turn make you rich.
Scott Gerber (@askgerber) of Sizzle It! – Facebook
Scott Gerber is the founder of Sizzle It!, a New York based sizzle reel production company specializing in promotional videos for PR and marketing professionals. He is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, public speaker and author of Never Get a “Real” Job: How to Dump Your Boss, Build a Business and Not Go Broke (Wiley, 2010).
