As you know we’ve been talking about getting new, fresh clients to your business using referrals.  Last week we talked about the psychological reasons your clients refer, and how to tap into those.  To see where we’ve been, visit my blog post from last week.  Today, we’ll start looking at specific ways to get referrals in your business, no matter what niche you’re in!

The best way to get referrals (but by no means the easiest) is to find ways to do what you do so well and so uniquely that your customers cannot resist telling lots of people about you.

Yeah, easier said than done, but extremely possible.  I’ll tell you that it’s hard to have a truly unique product or service.  Be honest with yourself, there’s probably plenty of places your clients could go to get what you do.  So the best way to stand out from your competition is in the service and the way you do things.

Here’s an example.  One of our businesses is selling to independent and regional chain retailers.  To be completely honest, you can get what we sell online for less.  But the experience you get when you order with us is second to none.  From the first greeting on the telephone, to timely shipping and receiving your order on time, the entire experience is one that you can’t get from our “price only” competitors. 

It’s not uncommon for us to get calls saying they were referred from a friend because they just had such a great experience with us. 

A second way is to simply ask for them.  It may sound easy, and it is, but timing is everything.  Here’s an example from a menswear store we do business with.

You need to know  when it’s the right time in the buying experience to ask for them.  In the menswear example, the time was right after they made the purchase at the cash register and THEY said thank you (which they almost always did).  Here’s the script they used:

“As you know this is how I make my living, and I sure would appreciate your help.  If you like the way you’ve been treated and you feel a friend or co-worker could use us, I would really appreciate it if you could give me the names of a couple people you feel could benefit from us.”

And more often than not, they got a referral right there.

A third way is to have an event where loyal customers are motivated to bring their friends, relatives, neighbors etc.

I have seen and heard of this working very well for all businesses including dentist, chiropractors, tax prep, financial services etc.  But don’t think it can’t work for you!  I have a consulting client who owns a fishing boat (among other things), and we suggested he use a client appreciation event during the non-fishing season to get his currently clients together, and encourage them to bring a guest (after all, fishermen know other fishermen!).  I have no doubt this will be a huge success in filling his fishing trips well in advance of next season.