Introduction
No matter what your business is, getting a sale can take time and effort. However, it’s often even harder to convince someone else to buy from you. After all, they don’t know you and don’t owe you anything.
That’s why referrals are so important: it must be good if someone else is recommending your product or service. But how do you get more sales referrals? Here are six top tips:
1. Make sure you are ready for referrals.
When a client refers a friend or colleague to you, it’s your job to ensure that the referral has a good experience and that they become a customer. If not, the potential for future sales is recovered. To ensure success with your new clients:
Identify the needs of your current clients and make sure you have solutions to help them solve those needs – this will help them recommend your services more often.
Make sure you can accept additional business – make sure you have enough capacity in terms of staff, space, and technology; don’t over-commit yourself.
Be prepared if they do come through – ensure all new leads are being serviced by someone who has been appropriately trained on handling them so everything runs smoothly during the onboarding process.
2. To get referrals, give referrals.
Referral marketing is a two-way street. You have to give referrals to get them. If you’re not willing to refer others, don’t expect any referrals from them either.
It’s easy to recommend someone who provides good service or products; that’s what small businesses always do.
Don’t just say, “that company was great,” without giving specific details about WHY it was so good and worth recommending. Be truthful when giving out recommendations.
3. Offer content of value.
You should offer content of value. This is best accomplished by consistently providing relevant information, and this could be through blog posts, newsletters, or webinars.
You’re offering more than just new resources: make sure what you’re offering fits the needs of your audience and doesn’t just benefit the company selling it. And if there are other ways people can purchase, make sure those options are clear.
4. Make the referral process easy
Referrals are most easily obtained by making it as easy as possible for people to refer you and then take action on those letters.
In other words, keep your success independent of whether or not you’re lucky enough to catch someone’s attention at the right time. Make sure that when someone does refer you, they have everything they need for your recommendation to be successful.
This means giving them all your contact information and ensuring that any questions about service are answered beforehand. Hence, everything is clear about what kind of service you provide.
5. Ask.
Ask—all the time. Asking for referrals is one of the most effective ways to increase your business, but it’s also one of the easiest ways to get shut down. Don’t be afraid to ask.
There are plenty of ways you can ask for referrals: in person, via email, and phone call. The important thing is that you make asking part of your routine, so it doesn’t feel weird or uncomfortable when you do it out loud.
6. Look to social media.
Using social media is a fantastic method to get your message out, but it’s also great for potential clients to find you.
If you don’t have an established presence on social media, consider setting up a profile on Facebook or LinkedIn and creating some content that speaks directly to your target audience.
Social platforms are also great at building trust with current clients—you can share news about yourself or new products/services, post relevant articles and videos, or engage in dialogue with others in your industry.
Social networking can be time-consuming if you do not create a plan of attack beforehand.
Conclusion
Referral marketing is a powerful tool to grow your business, but building these relationships takes time and effort. The key is to start with the basics and keep building from there.
Please ensure you have everything in place before reaching out for referrals and giving them.