Free and Easy Tips to Get More Referrals

Do you do a lot of networking?

I have had many networking associates say they have a referral for me, and that I should expect a call from so and so, but the call never comes for one reason or another.

Why do I want to give and/or get referrals?

Looking at the Baldydog.com company client list, I see that the majority of our clients were from referrals. Some were from companies that I have done business with, others where just from old clients who were more than satisfied with our work. So if you want business, you need to be giving and getting referrals.

What is a referral?

Any time you tell someone about a product or a business or suggest to someone that they should use said product or service that is a referral.

When you get a lead based upon a referral, you are far more likely to close the deal than you are if you are cold calling.

Referrals are like votes for your brand. The person who refers you is in essence giving your brand a vote.

Ask my dog above and I am sure he would give a vote for that bone in is his mouth…sorry, I just had to work him in..

Tips to get more referrals.

Ask friends or clients if they have someone they can refer to you.
When networking, tell people exactly what type of referral you would like to get. For example, I looking for referrals of marketing companies that do Law Firm marketing so they might list their Law Firm SEO clients with Onlinelegaldirectory.com. I am telling people exactly what type of referral I am seeking.
Give more referrals. People give referrals to people who give them referrals.
Develop symbiotic relationships. For example, we try to work with lots of web developers, because many web developers don’t do SEO, but they do have lots of clients that need SEO. Then at other times we have SEO clients that need some sort of web development..its a win win situation.
Go above and beyond what you promise your clients. Since we always give our clients more than what we promise, they love us, and love to send their friends to us.

How to Give a Good Referral

Having been in a BNI(Business Networking International) chapter, I learned their way to give a good referral. Don’t just give a name or contact info for the referral. A lot of times, what I do is ask the person if it would be alright for my friend to give them a call and find out what the best time would be to get a call. So when I am talking to a person about my buddy Tom who fixes computers, I verify with the person that “I am going to have my buddy Tom of LuckyGeek.net give you a call at such and such a time about your PC.” I prefer not to give them Tom’s info and have them call him. Some will, but some won’t .

Get permission to have your friend call the referral at a certain time. Its like scheduling an appointment. Don’t have the referral do the calling.

Additionally, when you are chatting with someone, a need will come up that one of your associates can fix. Be sure to sell your friends services, so that the referral will be waiting for the call. For my buddy Tom, I tell them I have a guy who fixes all sorts of computers and is cheap, and he has a policy that if he can’t fix it there won’t be a charge.

What to Do When You Get A Referral

Thank the person giving you the referral.
Call the referral at the designated time or call to reschedule the appointment if it doesn’t fit into your schedule.
Build your friend up who gave you the referral(don’t bad mouth them)
If it leads to business, be sure to reward your friend who gave you the referral with praise, thanks, cash, dinner, or a referral..etc.

How do you give and get referrals?

This may not be what you do in regards to getting and giving referrals, but please let me know if you have any referral tips that you use successfully that I have not mentioned.

Written by Pixelhead on April 6th, 2012 with comments disabled.
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vps
#1. April 9th, 2012, at 9:25 PM.

From a ground and real business approach, I must say that referrals are important for consumers as well as for services providers (if I talk about SEO for a moment).

SEO is a risk investment because you are paying on monthly basis but sometimes for results you have to wait for months and if you are in the hand of a wrong person your investment will be in the waste-bin.
Smart SEOs need more business and investors and business owners need great people who may not talk but do some actual work, so in this way referral is beneficial for clients as well as for service providers.

Great stuff!

mdenise@custom stickers
#2. April 10th, 2012, at 12:06 AM.

Referrals are good examples of a “give and take” setup between and among entrepreneurs. It is a way of creating a community with members who support one another to keep business running.

Nikolay
#3. April 11th, 2012, at 7:26 AM.

Well, aside from providing the best quality service possible, which is the most obvious and useful, I guess we can get it one step further and give away to our regular clients some kind of discount cards or something, that they can give to few of their friends. Their friends will be able to get a small discount too. This will make the things more shareable since now people will look good and cool when they refer other people to us, since they give some kind of added secret value (the discount) .

Nick
#4. April 11th, 2012, at 10:45 AM.

Referrals are what I build my fitness business on and certainly saves on advertising costs. I give clients freebies for referrals thus making them do the leg work. Everyone is happy and business is good

Alex
#5. April 12th, 2012, at 10:53 AM.

Social media brings good success for me when I actually make communication with people attached in my profile. I have got couple of good referrals from Twitter and FaceBook.

Steve
#6. April 13th, 2012, at 12:18 PM.

Good tips for getting referrals, though I think the most important tip would be to build trust with people and then everything else will fall into place.

Jason
#7. April 15th, 2012, at 11:57 AM.

I tried the referral system once when I was looking for a resume writer, and I never regret considering my friend’s referral. Giving recommendations through referrals can be a great help for potential clients to weigh benefits and risk before engaging into a certain product or service. However, the element of credibility must be present when utilizing this kind of system.

Fren Dee Bee
#8. April 19th, 2012, at 5:28 AM.

Building such kind of referral system is like building a network of sale agent. But of course always take in mind the product or service that you’re referring to others.

atari oyunlar?
#9. April 24th, 2012, at 5:52 PM.

Jeff the Entrepreneur
#10. April 25th, 2012, at 1:06 PM.

Referrals are indeed golden thread… A good source of quality lead and a good source
of extra income. Once you learn how to do it well, you get to use it over and over again.

Charles Daniels
#11. April 29th, 2012, at 6:05 PM.

We have found that the best way to get referrals is…to pay for them! Hah.

Good tips on building symbiotic relationships to increase referrals. Ultimately most people are going to do things that benefit themselves. So creating win-win scenarios is a must.

earn money
#12. April 29th, 2012, at 6:43 PM.

Rex R
#13. May 1st, 2012, at 3:59 PM.

That’s very true, referrals are an important and Quality source. When you trust and know someone, their recommendation of a referral is worth a lot. Good suggestions about how to gain more referrals.

civil litigation lawyer in Philadelphia
#14. May 2nd, 2012, at 6:51 PM.

Social media brings good success for me when I actually make communication with people attached in my profile.Well, aside from providing the best quality service possible, which is the most obvious and useful, I guess we can get it one step further and give away to our regular clients some kind of discount cards or something, that they can give to few of their friends. Their friends will be able to get a small discount too.

Mohsin Ali
#15. May 5th, 2012, at 10:01 AM.

I usually use forums to get referrals and the good thing about forums is that you will get targeted visitors free.

Autogire
#16. May 5th, 2012, at 4:25 PM.

Referrals a a beautiful example of mutual aid. In exchange for the experience of the first one, the second offers him a little money. The support spends less time to answer the questions therefore both parties are winning.

Sue Ramsey
#17. May 8th, 2012, at 12:05 PM.

I agree. Referels are very important. Social Media is another great place to get referrals as folks are all talking about what we like and naturally the referring the best businesses and services to our friends..

Easy Recipe Book
#18. May 11th, 2012, at 9:04 AM.

A great way to get more referrals is to comment on blogs, share information and generally get out and network with other people.

SEO web designing service
#19. May 12th, 2012, at 1:39 PM.

Just look around in your circle of friends. Or, better yet, start learning how to do these things yourself. It’s not that hard, really!

Photo Booth Hero
#20. May 22nd, 2012, at 5:26 AM.

Referrals are indeed important. I know that I only trust other friends now when it comes to dentists and lawyers and doctors. You just can never tell who is qualified or not. The best way is to figure out who has worked with who before and ask them how it went! Right on.

Lexi
#21. May 31st, 2012, at 3:09 AM.

Referrals are incredibly important for most business and a great example of voluntary value exchange!

Steve the Auto Inspector
#22. June 3rd, 2012, at 3:08 PM.

I just finished reading the Seven Levels of Communication which was an awesome book. I also have started networking in St Louis and run a morning Networking Meeting through Networking Plus which has helped build my referral network… The rule of thumb with referrals is that you need a 10 to 1 ratio – Send out 10 referrals to get 1 back.. It is a lot of work but it is the absolute best way to build a business and a long time business friendship!

Zarobitok
#23. June 4th, 2012, at 9:43 AM.

Referrals are a great way to grow your business. They’re also hard to get. I usually use social networking services to get my referrals.

Danny
#24. June 7th, 2012, at 12:37 AM.

Great tips for getting referrals. When owning a website or really any kind of business referrals are key, word of mouth can really keep a steady stream of visitors and unique traffic coming to your site.

River Sand
#25. June 26th, 2012, at 9:28 AM.