Business Development – How to get Business Referrals

When it comes to doing business as a professional service provider – accountant, solicitor, consultant, coach… there are times we need to rely on the recommendation of other people in order to get more leads, and clients as a way of developing a practice.

We know that we rely on friends and colleagues to recommend service providers. And we also know that we will generally take that recommendation and engage with that service provider with very little research. Yet so many professionals don’t have a system of getting referrals. They generally don’t ask, don’t know how to ask, don’t want to ask, or they don’t have a system in place to capture referrals.

With that being the case here’s some pointers to consider incorporating into your own practice.

1. Aim to be the best.

   No matter what business you’re in, aim to be the best at what it is you specialise in doing. Never make it about the money. People want the best and if you focus on being the best you’ll soon get the reputation for it and will build a following of raving fans.

2. Deliver as much value as you can.

   See what else you can provide your clients in order to deliver maximum value. If people were to compare what you provide to your clients, compared to others in your industry what would they say? Are they getting more value from you or your competitors?

3. Make it easy for people to refer business to you.

   Be clear on the type of clients you want to attract. Be as specific as possible. If you’re not specific, you’re making it harder for people to refer business to you.

4. Thank your referrers.

   Be sure to acknowledge people that have referred business to you or have supported you or your business in some way. Give them praise in public. This may be as simple as giving them a recommendation on LinkedIn. See how you can acknowledge and promote them as well.

5. Teach your clients the other services you provide.

   Your clients specifically know the service you provided for them. However there will more than likely be other services you provide that they are unaware of and are therefore unable to refer such business to you.

6. Give referrals.

   There’s nothing better to strengthen a business relationship than by giving other business owners referrals yourself. They will want to return the favour.

7. Have a system and ask for referrals.

   If you don’t have a systematic process for obtaining referrals, you’re then leaving it to chance. Map out the journey your client takes with your business and detail the specific contact points your client has with your business. Then program in at what points in that journey you will ask for referrals.

A question to ask yourself – if you managed to get one referral from each of your existing and past clients, what difference would that make to your business? So is it worth asking them for a referral?