Sure, sometimes new customers and clients fall out of trees or present themselves on our front door without our having to do much at all—but it doesn’t happen very often. What is more likely is that we have to work for our new prospects and customers and that means asking for those referrals and then nurturing them along until they are ready to become full-blown customers and clients.
Asking for referrals can be the hardest part for some people. You may feel as though you are being pushy or “too obvious”—but this is the way business works. It does not have to be obnoxious; you can simply say something like: “I hope you’ll tell your friends about me” or “Is there anyone you know who you think could benefit from my services?” I have found that in my freelance writing work, just letting people know that I have room for more work is all it takes. If I meet someone who is in a “sister” line of business—say a graphic designer or marketing director, I let them know what sort of work I do and just tell them to keep me in mind if they ever need someone with my skill set. Since I can only handle so much work at any one time, this tends to be enough and I spread the word about what I do while I’m asking for referrals.
Once you start to get referrals, it is important to take care of them! The people who gave you the referrals will want to know that you are treating their friends well, and you are starting to work with “word of mouth” when you are working with referrals so it will matter what they say about you when they get together. Be sure to follow up and keep track of your referrals so you don’t let someone languish or fall by the wayside. After all that work to get those referrals, we need to nurture them like the valuable gems they really are!
Also: Collect Names and Prospects Using a Drawing
It Costs Less to Keep Existing Customers