Referrals are one of the ways successful business stay on top. The recommendations they get from satisfied customers help to propel them forward, building new and fruitful relationships as they grow. Even when you are busy, and business is booming, you should always be focused on building a referral network because it’s relationships like these that can support you when things are slow.
Here are four great tips to help you develop a referral focused mindset:
1. You’ve got to earn it
This is a foundational mindset: if you want to get referrals, you’re going to have to do something to earn it. A referral is a sign of respect; it says that you have made at least one customer happy enough that they are willing to go out of their way to be an evangelist for you. If you are that good at doing what you do, you probably won’t even have to ask.
2. Be part of the solution
There is an old adage that says: “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” People these days are pretty hip to the pitch and quick to recognize the greedy hand. If you’re only looking for what others can do for you and not paying attention to what you can do for them, you’re missing the boat completely, and possibly coming off as an opportunist. If you can look at your customer and proactively solve a business problem for them, they may be able to think of several people who have the same problem and who might be able to get some value out of your solution.
3. Be truly grateful for any referrals
When your customers refer you to their friends, colleagues, or to other businesses, it’s because they believe in what you do, and they think that it provides value. Make a point of doing right by the referring party, because they are actually putting their reputation on the line as well. If things didn’t go so well, it might reflect badly on them, and so on. Make sure you give it your best effort and even go the extra mile to make sure they are happy. If you do, that one referral could easily turn into several more. Oh, and you should probably thank them too.
4. Give credit where credit is due
When you get a referral, no matter how big or how small the job, there was no doubt one or more individuals behind the original job that led to the endorsement. Be sure you are celebrating referrals with the appropriate personnel. They need to know how influential their work is and how important they are to your business’ success. This sort of recognition goes a long way to boosting morale and improving employee happiness – and a happy workforce is always going to do right by you.
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