How to Set Your Referral Program on Fire - Part 1

Whether you’re a self-employed dog-walker, an online business coach, a direct sales consultant, or a multi-million-dollar purveyor of electronic gadgets (Apple, anyone?) the number-one source of your best new leads is through referrals.

Experts say that leads received via referral cost less to convert, are more likely to purchase, and are more likely to refer you even more business! As a result, no one who is serious about growing their business can afford to overlook this lucrative source of new leads.

In this short report, I’m going to cover ten tips that will have your referral-based business skyrocketing. Even if you just implement one or two of these suggestions, you’ll experience an almost immediate increase in the number of leads heading your way. Even if you just implement one or two of these suggestions, you’ll experience an almost immediate increase in the number of leads heading your way.

Ready to get started? Let’s hit it.

Referral Fire Starter Tip #1: Ask!

It’s disappointing how many of my clients tell me they don’t regularly receive referrals from their existing customers. But when I dig a little deeper, the reason becomes clear: Most times, they’re not asking for referrals!

You might believe that if people are happy with the products and services you’re delivering to them, they’ll naturally tell others. While this is sometimes true, it’s not necessarily so. There are three main reasons people don’t refer friends and acquaintances, even when they’re thrilled with the service or product they receivedThere are three main reasons people don’t refer friends and acquaintances, even when they’re thrilled with the service or product they received
:

1. Laziness. Most of us are lazy. We don’t go out of our way to do something unless there’s something in it for us.
2. They forget. Out of sight, out of mind. Once they leave your presence or use your product, they forget about you – unless there’s something that brings you to top-of-mind again.
3. No one asked them to! It sounds crazy, but just asking someone to refer you can increase the amount of referrals you receive. All you have to do is ask!

While asking for referrals doesn’t have to be complicated, there are some guidelines that will make your request more likely to be successful:

1. Ask at the right time. Right after your customer has received great service is the perfect time to ask for a referral. The experience is fresh in their minds, and they’re more likely to have a strong positive emotion.
2. Ask when you’re having personal contact. When your client is in front of you or on the phone with you, or when you’re wrapping up a series of personal email exchanges is a great time to ask. That personal interaction increases the chances of a positive response.
3. Ask specifically. “Do you know anyone else who might be interested in our services?” is a great question, but even better is, “Who do you know who might also like to offload some of their accounting services to a responsible bookkeeper?” is better.
4. Ask for the information you need. Getting a name is useless without an email address or phone number! If your customer doesn’t have the information on hand, set a specific time to call them to follow up (call – don’t email – because emails are too easy to ignore).

Asking may seem uncomfortable at first, but practice makes perfect.Asking may seem uncomfortable at first, but practice makes perfect.
Do it enough times and it will become a natural part of your interaction with your customers – with fantastic effects.

Referral Fire Starter Tip #2: Set Up a Successful Process

In an article in a sales magazine, a successful veteran sales manager stated that when his team received stacks of business cards and leads from the marketing team after a multi-day trade show, the leads often sat on the salesmen’s desks, or ended up in the garbage. What a waste! Hundreds, if not thousands, of leads – left to shrivel up and die. Just imagine the unclaimed revenue…

If you don’t have a process set up to handle your incoming referrals, you might be committing the same referral crime. Here’s how to create a successful referral processhow to create a successful referral process
:

1. Map it out. You ask your client for a referral, and you get one. Now what? If you get the name on a card or sheet, where does that go? If you get it via email, who receives it and answers it?'
2. Grab a large piece of paper or a mind-mapping software program and go step-by-step through your process. Start with the request for a referral and keep asking yourself “Now what? Now what? Now what?” until you’ve worked the entire way through your process and that referral has now been converted to a customer.
3. Get buy-in. Rare is the referral program that is handled by one person and one person only. Usually someone – a web master, a VA, a co-worker – is needed to help you out at one or more step in the process. Identify those who will need to help you, what they’ll be responsible for, and get their buy-in.
4. Look for problems. After you’ve implemented your process according to your map, give it a month or so and then revisit it. Are referrals being held up at a particular step? Are things going off-track? Figure out where and why, and figure out how you’re going to fix it.
5. Refine. Times change and people change. Your golden VA disappears to Bali. You decide to close your Twitter and Facebook profiles. You revamp your entire business… As a result, you need to revisit and refine your process as your business changes and your customer profile evolves. Everything might still be okey-dokey, but you may need to adjust things to accommodate how referrals are coming to you, or how you’re contacting new leads.

Processes can seem stilted and, for some people, boring. But getting it down and getting it right is a critical step to making your referrals pay off.Processes can seem stilted and, for some people, boring. But getting it down and getting it right is a critical step to making your referrals pay off.

Referral Fire Starter Tip #3: Reward the Referrer

Many people will come up with a name or two if you ask them for friends or acquaintances who might be interested in your service or products. But promise them a reward of some sort, and they’ll suddenly think of long-lost aunts and former roommates who are in the market for someone just like you.promise them a reward of some sort, and they’ll suddenly think of long-lost aunts and former roommates who are in the market for someone just like you.

Before you sign away your hard-won profits, though, read these five tips for creating a great referral rewards program:

1. Reward based on QUALIFIED leads. What’s worse than having no referrals at all? Having a notebook full of unqualified leads or disconnected phones. If you’re in the car business, you don’t want referrals for people who are too young to drive. If you’re in the cosmetics business, your customer’s Uncle Joe might turn out to be a perfect lead, but chances are you’re better off with Aunt Betty. Do some initial qualification of your leads, and reward based on the number of people who actually turn out to be at least somewhat interested in your business.
   
   For instance, instead of giving your customer a $5 credit for each friend they refer, give them a $25 credit for each friend they refer who agrees to a makeover. They’ll probably give you fewer contacts, but the contacts they give you will be quality contacts.
2. Reward related items. Offering a free oil change for anyone who sends five new clients to your house painting business? Umm, no. Make the reward fit your business model for continuity and branding; it’s just one more way to make your image stronger.
3. Reward quickly. Waiting a few months or even weeks can delay the action-reward cycle. When people are rewarded quickly, they are more likely to repeat the behavior so they can get rewarded again.
4. Reward intermittently, too. While it’s important to have a set reward schedule (for instance, $20 credit for each new customer who makes a purchase with you), it can be powerful to send “surprise” rewards as well. Once a quarter or so, send a thank-you email, coupon, or small gift as an additional thanks. These small surprises solidify your program in your customers’ minds.
5. Reward the referred party as well as the referrer. While it’s great to reward the person who refers new customers to you, it’s equally important to reward the new lead. Current customers will be much more likely to give you the name and contact info of their friends if there’s something in it for the referral as well. You can offer $10 off for the new customer as well as for the referrer. Then it’s a win-win-win for you, your current and your future customers.

Referral Fire Starter Tip #4: Give Great Service

It almost goes without saying – but I’m going to say it anyway. The number-one way to ensure quality referrals is to give great service in the first place.The number-one way to ensure quality referrals is to give great service in the first place.
The happier your customers are, the more likely they’ll be to refer their friends and colleagues in your direction. Here are six tips for making sure your current customers are as pleased as possible:

1. Provide a way for customers to contact you. Whether it’s a phone number or an email address, have customer service contact information and make it easy to find on your website. There’s nothing more frustrating from the customer’s side of things than to have issues and not have a way to get them resolved. Bonus: Customers will feel more comfortable about purchasing from you or doing business with you if they know they can easily reach you if something goes wrong.
2. Set expectations. If you’re a solo-preneur and only check email between 9-10 AM, you need to let your customers know that you won’t be on call 24/7. Likewise, if you only answer your phone at certain times, letting clients know beforehand will head off any concerns about non-responsiveness. You can post your “office hours” on your website, or create an outgoing message or autoresponder that lets people know when to expect a response from you (a word of warning: In today’s “microwave” world, anything more than 24 hours is considered long).
3. Respond to issues as quickly as possible. It’s never fun to read or listen to customer complaints, but playing ostrich and hiding your head in the sand won’t make them go away. If anything, the longer you delay, the more irate your customers will be. But answering quickly can actually head off molehills that could become mountains.
4. Under promise and over deliver. If you think it will take a day to resolve a customer’s issue, tell them you’ll get back to them in two days – and then surprise them by doing it sooner. Under promising and over delivering is a quick path to customers’ hearts.
5. Take the extra step. Do whatever it takes to make the customer happy – then go one more step. Offer a refund before it’s asked for, provide exemplary service, and find ways to thrill your customers. They’ll pay back your efforts in loyalty – and referrals!
6. Hire help. Outsourcing your customer service should be one of the first efforts you make, particularly if you are the sensitive sort who will get your feelings hurt by unsubscribes, refund requests, or complaints. For as little as $10/hour you can get someone else to handle your customer service for you – a wise investment.

When you implement these ideas, you’ll see your customer satisfaction and natural referrals skyrocket. And when you combine great customer service with some of the other tips in this report, you’ll really experience the landslide effect that will lead only one place – to more clients and more money.when you combine great customer service with some of the other tips in this report, you’ll really experience the landslide effect that will lead only one place – to more clients and more money.

Referral Fire Starter Tip #5: Gather Customer Testimonials

One of the most powerful tools you can have at your disposal when working to gather referrals is customer testimonials.One of the most powerful tools you can have at your disposal when working to gather referrals is customer testimonials.
Testimonials from satisfied clients work in a few different ways to strengthen your referral program:

1. They make the existing customer more committed to you. If their name and/or face has appeared on your website, in a direct mailing piece, or in a company newsletter, they are going to be much more invested in your success. They’ll want you to succeed and be willing to help make sure that happens by referring friends, family members, and acquaintances to you.
2. They hold more weight with referrals. When a potential client or lead sees a whole page full of quotes and testimonials from existing customers, it further cements the idea that you’re someone they want to do business with.
3. They help with “cold” leads, too. The next best thing to a direct referral is a “cold” lead who sees page after page of satisfied, smiling customers. Why do you think so many plastic surgeons and weight-loss experts use before-and-after photos? THEY WORK!

Gathering customer testimonials can be a little bit daunting, unless you know exactly what you’re looking for, and in what format. Here are some tips:

• For websites, video testimonials are great, but not necessary. A photo with a text quote is fine, and as many people are hesitant about appearing on-camera, they’re often much easier to get from your customers.
• If your customer is reluctant to provide a photo, ask for an audio interview instead. That often will seem more “real” than just a plain text quote.
• Tell your customers what you want them to say beforehand. Brief them on the questions you’ll be asking (if interviewing them) or the kind of quote you’re looking for (if they’re completing a survey or questionnaire). The better sense they have of what you need, the better they’ll deliver.
• Make it a habit to ask for testimonials. Once someone refers a few customers your way, follow up. Say, “You seem to really like our program – and we love you! Would you be willing to record (or write) a short testimonial we can use in our marketing materials?”
• Edit judiciously. Some people will go on and on. It’s great that they’re so excited, but the reader or viewer just wants the main points. Cut where necessary.
• Reward them for helping you out. If you’re using their image and/or words to get more business, they should be rewarded for doing so. But don’t make it a straight, “Give me a testimonial and I’ll give you a free treatment;” that could be seen as bribery. Instead, send them a small thank-you well after the fact, or put them in a drawing to win a larger item.

Testimonials are a great addition to any marketing program, and will make your current referral program even stronger.Testimonials are a great addition to any marketing program, and will make your current referral program even stronger.

COMING NEXT MONTH

• Market Your Program Creatively
• Make It Easy for Referrers
• Moving It Forward
• Troubleshooting.
• What NOT to Do.
• Conclusion