Referrals are something that most people don’t even think to ask for.
- Are you adding value to your customers?
- Do you feel that you could do more?
Adding value is a new term for a lot of businesses however it is an old concept. If you want to get something you need to give value of sometimes 5 times the value.
What does a referral look, like, you say. An example is you are doing a great job for your customer and you casually ask if anyone they know needs the services that you just completed for them.
I used to ask each person I met for referrals of people that would like to be pampered, I would come out from a party with sales, bookings and referrals, I would either make it a party for the guest or I would ring each one separately so that they got their own party. These were successful as I was recommended by this person, they received a reward also. I would give them product that I had gotten for free or at a discount.
In the past I would also ask for referrals for team members and YES my customers did that for me and I rewarded them with a voucher. It worked well because the new team member had customers straight away.
Referrals are another form of adding value to your customers. The better you treat them there is the potential to have more and more referrals. Think about a business like Jim’s Mowing, if the lawn mower guy did a bad job you wouldn’t call him again however if the does a good job the next time a friend wants someone you will think of the person you are using.
Word of mouth for a lot of businesses is another form of income for them. They save on costs of advertising because they are using the power of the work to get them more customers.
Referrals are a great way to increase business from your customers, it is much easier to keep a customer happy than to find a new one and it is much easier to have a happy customer pass on your details to friends etc.
Now what benefit do you see from it? Well I saw an increase in the number of bookings I had which in turn created more sales. I had more team members without the ‘hard sell’. I didn’t have to advertise for work as it was coming to me. The extra savings I used to buy gifts for these people and also for the new team members. I then educated my team to do the same thing and we were doing production of a director and getting team members joining us.
Looking at what you are doing now and is it getting you to where you want to go, if not are you asking for referrals?
Tips to offer:
1. Ask for referrals, they can say no but hey they could say YES.
2. Add value to your existing customers, make them feel special.
3. Offer incentives use this as leverage
4. Great customer service will make your life easier
