Business referrals are like the Holy Grail of marketing. Anytime you can get word of mouth advertising - which is what business referrals are - the results are priceless.
Once you get set up with business referrals you don't need to do much else besides that. The key thing is getting to the point where business referrals are what primarily drives your marketing efforts.
The first and foremost factor for generating business referrals is offering outstanding service: under-promising and over-delivering. Your most powerful business referrals will come from your current customers and clients. Take care of them and they will help you.
When you are looking to expand your base of business referrals you need to know:
What to ask
When to ask
How to ask
By getting these three steps right, your business referral rate will skyrocket.
From every satisfied customer you should be able to generate at least one business referral per year. What you need to ask is that each customer think about potential business referrals they can make.
When you need to ask this, is soon after they give you a great compliment. How easy is it to give a business referral after you've had great service?
How to ask, is by making sure you do not apply any pressure. Asking for a business referral is asking for a favor. Don't sour your client's experience by putting him or her on the spot. This will only lessen your chances of actually getting a business referral.
Here is an example script asking for a business referral:
You know Jim thank you for your kind words and praise. I really enjoy this work a lot. It is really gratifying when I hear how much value your business is getting out of it. I sure wish I had more clients just like you. You are such a pleasure to work with and you have such nice people here. Do you have any friends with computer problems that we ought to be talking with?
Bottom Line on Business Referrals
Business referrals need to be direct but also low key. Many times computer consultants are too busy or too shy to ask for a business referral. If that's you, you need to get over it. The number one way to get more business referrals is simply to ask in the first place and ask often.
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