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Referrals - Gold for Your Business

by June Van Klaveren

Referrals are effective because they come from a credible source who has experienced, first hand, what it's like to do business with you.

Referrals are also free, an attractive marketing strategy for small companies on limited budgets.

Often people will say to their customer, "Is there anyone you know who would benefit from using my services?" And most customers will answer, "Not that I can think of right now."

"Know anyone who. . ." questions are too broad and result in few referrals. Narrow the reference pool by being more specific with your questions.

Have a conversation something like this. You ask, "Mary, you're a member of xxxx association." Mary responds, "Yes, I am." You ask, "Do you go to their meetings regularly?" "Yes, most of the time," Mary says. You ask, "Is there anyone in your association that you believe could benefit from my services? Maybe one or two people you've known in the group for awhile?"

The difference in this conversation and the normal "know anyone who. . ." patter is that Mary can visualize a narrower group of people and visualize your services or products. She is more likely to give you names of her associates when you ask specific questions.