Vary your pitch. Your referral request during the busy season needs to explain that you are looking to build relationships with new prospects who may not be in immediate need of your services but might in the future.

Your ultimate goal is to get your clients to clear the way by calling their peers on your behalf. Your odds of getting work from their peer skyrockets when you client calls your prospect. Whose claims about your superior services are your prospects more likely to believe, yours or your customer’s?

A referral system accomplishes two objectives;

(1) it persuades your pleasantly pleased customers to pass your name along and

(2) it uncovers customers who will actively promote your services to one and all. Pleasantly pleased customers will be willing to spread your name, but they will want to do it quietly without going out of their way. Your passionate customers will be your marketing megaphone. They will get on the phone and call their contacts. They will give you glowing testimonials. If you are lucky enough to find one, use him for marketing your business in every way possible.

Here are a couple of other tips regarding referrals:

One of the easiest ways to get referrals is to give them. Find out what products and services your customers provide, ask them who their target client is. Try to send clients their way.

Always send a thank you card and a gift of appropriate value for a client referral. That small show of appreciation will carry great weight with your client.

While you’re out chasing referrals, make sure to collect testimonials. Clients who give you referrals will not hesitate to give you a testimonial. The referral actually asks much more of them than does a testimonial.

The real trick to consistently generating great leads is systematically promoting word-of-mouth. Word-of-mouth doesn’t spread accidentally. Done properly and systematically, a referral system could become the only marketing strategy you ever need to keep your plate full. It certainly is the most reliable, fruitful, and economical. Let’s review. To increase sales from a customer:

Sell additional services

Increase you client market share

Increase your client’s budget

Get referrals to new clients (the best)

All four of these tactics require you to embrace selling. It’s your choice to make. If you’re not happy with your current progress, give these ideas a try. You’ll probably be amazed at the results they produce.

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