5 Simple Steps to Generate Referrals

How to get clients in 2023...

The average service business lasts less than 4 years.

And owners of most service businesses make less than $80K per year.

Not trying to be average?

I don't blame you.

But it's getting harder and harder to stand out.?

How do you compete with big marketing budgets?

What channel should you be focusing on to bring in new clients?

These are questions many of our clients have had.

But once they start focusing on the channel that is responsible for 70%+ of ALL?clients, things become much simpler.

And then there's growth.

1 new client becomes 2, and then 5, and then 10, and pretty soon they're hiring staff.

So what is that channel?

REFERRALS!

Did you know 92% of consumers trust referrals from people they know and people are 4 times more likely to buy when they are referred by a friend? (this is according to a Nielsen study)

Would a few more referral sources in your camp make an impact?

Would 20?

Would?100?

Now before you say, duh, I try to get referrals all the time, think about the reach you're actually getting right now.

Maybe a few dozen or a few hundred people are in your network.

But I'm talking about tapping into the spheres of all of those people.

Basically, your sphere x 100.

How does that work?

So referral sources come in all shapes and sizes.

And all you need from them is a simple introduction.

A connection that bridges the gap between you and your prospects.

Prospects are always thinking "Why should I trust this person?"

See, over 50% of clients are a result of word-of-mouth anyway.

So you can either fight to tap into the other 50% using facebook ads, billboards, mailers, lead gen companies or flying a giant plane with a banner behind it that says "CHOOSE US"

or....

You can simply work on your referral chops.

So it's that one little introduction that forms a commonality between you and your prospect that turns them into a lifelong client.

So how do you GET that introduction?

By starting your own?referral funnel?and sending the link to everyone you know.

Full disclosure, we do provide this service?HERE .

I've helped implement a referral strategy for nearly every service business you can imagine.

And I've found that it's truly incredible what can be achieved when you get even a few more people actively sharing your business with the world.

So what is a?referral funnel?

Let's walk?through this strategy step by step, including:

STEP 1: How to create your reward

STEP 2: How to craft your offer

STEP 3: How to compile your sphere

STEP 4: How to?distribute your referral funnel to your network

STEP 5: How to keep generating referrals

STEP 1:??

How to create your reward

There are three parts to this and it’s important to get it right:??

• A = What an average new client is worth to you (net profit)
• B =?How many new clients you can take on per year
• C = What it costs to reward your ambassador per referral??

?

A x B - C = REFERRAL REVENUE

EXAMPLE

A = $15,000

You can?input this on your own as it will vary depending on your market/location and the structure of your business.

B = 12 (1 per month)

This will vary depending on your current stream of clients, availability and market. But?let's assume?you can handle at least 1 more client per month.

C =?$200 (per qualified referral)

That sounds like a lot to a lot of you.

But this is what separates businesses that get referrals from the ones wondering why they're not.

Once you get your referral funnel up and running you may not need to spend ANY other money on marketing.

You should be more than happy to spend on rewards, because this is a client you would not have had otherwise.

Word of mouth is crucial to your business and there is a serious snowball effect when it comes to new clients.

Don’t be afraid to provide extra motivation when profit margins are high.

BUT, if you don't want to spend a dime for referrals, you can always offer other rewards like:

• Free estimate
• Complimentary session
• Credit for future services
• Donation to the referral source's favorite charity

STEP 2:

How to craft your offer

Your offer does not need to cost you anything.

Your offer simply needs to convey enough value to make your prospect want to have a conversation with you.

This can be a:

• Free Estimate
• Free Consultation
• Free Checklist?

or any other type of value-based offer.

The goal here is to give something tangible for your ambassadors to "hook up" their friends, all while making sure you get to meet the prospect.

So make your offer something that necessitates a phone call, and make the offer easy to access for your ambassadors.

This means a special link or a special landing page that you can easily send their way (we'll get to the "distribution" part later).

The point here is to provide something that only referred clients have access to.?

When you introduce scarcity with your offers, your prospects have a much harder time passing it up.

Make them feel silly if they were to say "no" to your offer, and your calendar will start filling up.

STEP 3

How to compile your sphere

If you're not using some sort of email sending tool, start now.

CRMs are great, but even a basic email sending tool like Mailchimp, Aweber or Convertkit will do the trick and are very reasonably priced.

If you don't have anything yet but want to get started out of Gmail or Outlook or whatever email platform you're using, just create a spreadsheet.?

What we want to do here is list out and segment your family, friends, acquaintances and clients.

You just need their first name and email.

These are all potential ambassadors.

Don’t miss anyone - you’ll be surprised at where referrals come from.

Your goal is to come up with at least 100 people?that might possibly refer you a new client if it crossed their mind.

And it IS going to cross their mind - we'll get into that next.

STEP 4

How to distribute?your?referral funnel to your network

Most people wait until they get a referral and then awkwardly have a conversation with their referral source about how appreciative they are and what can they do to say thank you and blah blah blah...?

We're not doing that.

We're going to be proactive.?

Here's what you do...

Send an email to welcome your family, friends, acquaintances and previous clients as people?you?want representing your business because of the respect you have for?them.?

There is nothing wrong with a little flattery here.?

Most importantly, make it clear that it is your?policy?as someone who runs a?business?to give rewards for promoting your services.?

Take the awkwardness right out of it.

You want referrals and you want to reward people for them.

Come out and say it. It’s refreshing and it’s good business.

And this should become part of your regular cadence.

You can always include other value adds to these emails, but start running a referral campaign NOW.

Here are some other ways to get your referral funnel out there:

• Post about it on social media, regularly.
• Send an email blast.
• Include it on your email signature.
• Add a link to your website.
• Put it on your linkedin profile (and other social media profiles).
• Text it out when the opportunities arise.

Whatever it is, put it at the front of your marketing efforts.

?Make referrals your mantra, your purpose.

After all, you want to HELP more people.

And your referral funnel does a?few things to separate yourself from the herd.

First, it reminds people that you are indeed actively working in your industry and looking to serve more clients.

Second, it positions you as the top person to send referrals to, because now you've given them a?reason?to refer clients your way.

And third, it gives your business a reason to exist. A purpose for people looking to do good business?and refer good business.

Even if they don't consciously think about it, you will be on the map in their brain when referral opportunities arise.

Now it's just about making the act of referring easy for everyone in your network...

STEP 5

How to keep generating referrals

Half of the battle here is having a motivating reward and offer (STEPS 1 & 2).

The other half is keeping your services top of mind.

You need to be the first person that everyone you know thinks about when?anything comes up about your service.

Your messaging should include the new offers you are running to keep them actively engaged and motivated to send referrals your way.

Switch up your offers to keep things fresh and remind your potential ambassadors about the reward you’re offering.

Consistency is key here.

Your goal is to get as many people as possible in your sphere to take a very simple action - introduce you to a prospect.

Remember, you just need a foot in the door, that simple personal introduction, and that’s something your ambassadors can help you with very easily.

But you need to provide an easy way to make those introductions.??

That's why a referral funnel provides ease and scalability for your referrals.

You put all the information in one place and then drive your sphere there.

They land on your?ambassador?page?where you give them the details of the reward they can earn along with instructions on how to send a referral your way.

Then you provide a link to your?prospect?page?which is where you want your prospects to land.

You can do this with a number of website platforms if you're on the techy side.?Or we can setup your referral funnel?HERE ?for you so all you need to do is distribute your link!

But seriously, when you provide the motivation for your sphere AND make it so that a quick intro can be done in a few clicks, you'll be unstoppable with referrals.

If you want us to set it up for you - we're happy to get you up and running...

Hope that helps you get a referral strategy in place!

And when you're ready, here are the 3 ways I can help you grow your business:

1) Read my 5 Step Guide to Explosive Referrals?HERE

2) Build your audience on LinkedIn?HERE

3) Launch your own referral funnel?HERE

*And if you're a Realtor, here's how I can help?build your sphere