Referral’s are good. In consulting, the hardest thing to do is finding the next job. The work itself is usually no problem, but it’s always difficult to find companies that can use my services, and then even more difficult to convince them to hire me. This is where referrals can really help. A proper referral system can have business steadily coming your way. But how do you implement such a system?

You ask

Pretty simple. After you do a job, ask the client if he/she is happy with the work. If there’s a problem, address it. Once they are completely satisfied, ask if they know of anyone else that can benefit from your services. You’d be surprised how often this turns in to another warm sales lead for you. This doesn’t just work for services, you can apply this to consumer products, events, just about anything that can be marketed.

Another thing you can do is use the referral as a negotiation tool. Sometimes a client will ask for a discount. Why discount something for free? The client is getting something out of this situation, but what about you? If you’re going to discount, always ask for something in return. If a client is asking for a discount, they probably are somewhat short on funds. Instead of asking for a larger purchase, ask for a referral. If the referral pays off, then boom they get the discount. You can also ask for a long term commitment, a quote (that you can use in marketing collateral), or whatever, but the referral is usually the most useful.

What do you do to get referrals for your business? Comment below or email me at edwardviator@evil-marketer.com