Small Business Coaching On Getting Referrals

By Allison Babb

One of my subscribers recently asked the question of how to get a steady stream of referrals. Great question and one that more business owners should be asking as referrals are a powerful source of new business.

Referrals are powerful because when someone speaks positively about your business, it is far more powerful than any marketing the business owner can do. That's because it is unsolicited and comes from personal experience. The person speaking about your business has first-hand positive experience and they are sharing it.

The person hearing the referral is far more receptive to hearing a recount of an experience from a trusted friend, family member, or associate. And they almost instinctively want to share in the positive experience by showing up to do business with you.

All business owners want referrals and we often assume it is an organic process where the business owner is not actively involved. But there are ways in which you an stimulate referrals.

Here are 4 ways to generate referrals:

1) It may seem obvious, but first and foremost, create awesome products and deliver awesome services. Take a look at the product you sell and the service that supports that product. When people receive high quality products and, better yet, high quality service, they naturally tell others about it. A good question to ask is whether there are improvements or changes you can make to your product or service to earn an increased number of raving fans?

2) Ask. Again, this may seem simple enough but my experience is that business owners could do more to ask for referrals. When someone raves about your product or service on their way out the door or upon completion of a project or task, ask if they can do you a favor by referring others to you. People are more than happy to fulfill that request.

3) Referral programs: This is where you set up programs for existing clients and customers where they receive a gift or prize or some other enticing benefit for referring clients and customers to you. Depending on the size of your business and customer base, this may be a good option.

4) Celebrate those who refer to you: When someone refers a customer to you, go overboard with thanking them for that referral and you're likely to see more people referring to you. If they take the time to refer someone and barely get a thank-you, it's unlikely that they'll bother referring in future.