When was the last time you received a red hot referral for YOUR Business?

referral_border

Maybe an existing client referred your products or services,  or someone in your wider network thought of you.  They trusted you, called you and said “Call Fred Smith and mention my name, he is in the market for some of your widgets“.  How did that make you feel and how quickly did you pick up the phone and call Fred?

If that referral went as well as it should have then it was probably one of the easiest sales you made that day.  Better still, the cost of bringing that new client on board was very efficient.

Now turn this example around and think about the impact you would make with one of your clients if you were able to give them a similar red hot referral for their business. Would you then figure high up on their target for returning the favour to your business? You bet you would, so immediately you have a referral alliance with that client and probably the repeat business that goes with it.

How hard would it be if you developed a habit to constantly be on the lookout for referrals for all your A Grade clients?  A wise man once said “Give and you shall receive” and this certainly applies in business.

Try this for the next 4 weeks: Set a goal for the number of referrals you will give out each week. Start off small, maybe 1 or 2 for the first month until the process becomes a habit (remember the 21 day rule for developing a Habit). By listening and asking simple questions it’s very easy to pick up the “signals” from your clients.  The areas of need that you can react to with a referral to someone you know and trust who can meet their needs.  For example a conversation may go something like this:

YOU:  How’s business going Fred?  What’s the biggest challenge you are facing these days? (now just listen)

FRED:   Yeah, business is not bad,  could do with a few more clients plus IRD is giving me a hard time and my Accountant is not being too helpful by leaving it all up to me to resolve…. blah,  blah,  blah….

YOU:  (the light bulb goes on and you think about how good your Accountant is treating you)  So the service you get from your Accountant isn’t much to rave about?  When was the last time you thought about changing Accountants Fred?   My Accountant saved me thousands of dollars on my tax bill last year,  would you like their name?

A simple example like this if it solves Fred’s problem and refers a new client to your Accountant will be a win/win for you and guess who will be appreciative of your efforts and will eventually return the  referral favour?     BOOM…….  Probably 2 new referrals for you from one simple conversation with Fred.  Develop the habit, increase it to maybe 4 or 5 client referrals a month, could that then equate to maybe 8 or 10 referrals coming back to you next month?  What impact would that make to next month’s turnover?

Now, still thinking about Fred and his referral back to you, he talks to his mate whom he knows needs some of your widgets, tells them to give you a call, mention his name etc etc….  Possibly the first thing that Prospect might do is Google your Business to research Fred’s referral.  What will the Google Search deliver back to your new prospect?  Will Google actually find your business or will your competition receive a higher ranking than you?

Your web site is quite often the first impression new referrals (and other prospects) have to evaluate you.   Is your Home Page making the best impact on a new prospect or does it need improving so it reflects the vibrancy and efficiency of your current business?

Is the prospect quickly shown they are in the right place and led effortlessly through your story to a persuasive Call to Action at exactly the right moment? Is additional information easy to find, easy to digest and in the order a new prospect would look for it? Is your Contact Us form prominent, inviting and easy to use? Or is it buried somewhere less obvious and obscure that it could be missed altogether?  If this is so then you should consider some improvements to these key pages.

So make your sales funnel (i.e. website) as good as it can be, develop the habit of Giving, then stand back and Receive in return.

Happy networking
Mike

P.S. Who do YOU know who needs help with their website?  Anyware Web Marketing appreciates referrals and rewards everyone who takes the time to refer people that convert into new clients.