Get People Talking About You

How to get more client referrals

I was talking to a friend the other day at my co-working space. We were talking about nail art. (Insert cliche about all-women’s co-working space here.)

I mentioned I knew a lady who does great nail art.

She said, “OK, you see how you just did that? I want people to be doing that for my business. Like, if they run into someone who needs help with their business’ financial structure, I want them to mention me.”

In other words, she wants referrals.

And if I were a betting woman, I’d say you wouldn’t mind a few referrals heading your way, either.

Referrals are wonderful. They are a warm lead, you have a person in common already, and existing trust makes selling that much easier. They’re a powerful source of business.

The hard part about referrals is that they’re unpredictable. It’s hard to say when someone’s gonna mention, say, nail art, and even tougher to predict if they’ll remember your name or the name of your studio when they mention it.

The good news is that there ARE things you can do to help increase your chances that you’ll get referrals from your network. And all of them are very easy to do. Let’s get into it.

There are three elements of a strong referral system. All of them are equally important.

1. Clarity on the problem you solve

2. Incentives

3. A formal agreement

Clarity on the problem you solve

If it’s not obvious what problem you solve, you are impossible to refer.

For Nail Art Lady, it’s easy. She solves ugly, boring nails. When I hear someone say, “I wish I could have less boring nails,” I immediately think of her, and I mention her name.

Anytime someone asks what your business does, they are a potential referral source.

How you answer that question determines how easy it is to refer you.

Here are some examples to show you what I mean:

If they say, “What does your company do?”

One thing that helps you nail the problem is establishing your company’s positioning. Founding Members get this as part of their subscription, along with monthly office hours and all of my resources and templates ($130 in savings)

So, get clear on the the following three things:

1. What problem do I solve?

2. Who am I solving it for?

3. What does it feel like for my potential client inside of this problem, and how would they describe it to a friend?

And then practice using those three things in conversation with other people. That way, when someone asks about your business, you’re prepared to give them a strong answer - that also subtly primes them to recognize your people out there in the wild.

Incentives

This one is simple: if you give people money to refer you, they’re more likely to refer you.

You can decide how much you’re willing to part with based on your margins. I’ve seen some people do $500, 3% of the contract, 1% of the contract - even up to 10% of contracts.

How much is up to you. But incentives make it so referrals become strategic as opposed to wishful thinking.

A formal agreement

There’s something about a signed piece of paper. It makes things feel more official.

A lot of businesses have a clear problem, a referral incentive, and then wonder why no one takes advantage of it. My suspicion is that they haven’t formally invited anyone to be part of their referral circle.

Think how you’d feel if someone took the time to be part of their referral program, offered you money, and agreed to it in writing. Would you be more likely to do it? I think yes.

Bonus points if you arm them with a one pager and a sales deck link so they can share it with other people.

And there you have it, folks. Clarity on your problem, incentives, and a formal structure. Now go get people talking about you.

Business [Comma] Woman is for anyone building (or thinking about building) a business around their skills. Whatever you’re good at: accounting, tarot card reading, window washing, marketing, therapy - if it’s legal, we want you to make money at it. We focus on the stuff that gives entrepreneurs hives: getting clients, marketing services, selling services, pricing, etc. If this article resonated or was helpful, please share it!