“I want my website and LinkedIn to work properly for me and my business,” said Sue.

“What do you want them to do for you?” I asked her.

“I’m not sure,” she replied. “I just think they should be doing more for me.”

“Where does your new business currently come from?” I enquired.

“All our new clients come from referrals,” Sue told me.

This was the start of a conversation I had with someone I met at a networking meeting. Sue already runs a successful business that’s been going for some time and she wants to grow it more. You might think that a business that gets all its new work from referrals doesn’t actually need a website or a LinkedIn profile – or ones that work well. However, as I pointed out to Sue, a website that works properly is one that will actually increase the number of referrals you receive.

How does this work?

Imagine that one of your happy clients suggests to someone they know that he contacts you for help. This new contact takes a look at your website and searches for you on LinkedIn. He can’t find you on LinkedIn, or maybe he finds your profile, but there’s no photo and you don’t have any recommendations, to prove to him that you’re good at what you do. Or perhaps when he looks at your website, he’s not that impressed by it. It talks mostly about how great you and not about how you can help him. There are no useful resources on your site to give him a taste of what you can do for him. You don’t post on your blog very often, so he’s not convinced that you’re an expert in your field. And so he doesn’t call you, as suggested by your client. He quietly slips away without you even knowing about the potential referral.

So you can see that improving your online presence – particularly your website and your LinkedIn profile – can dramatically improve the number of referrals that actually show up. Make sure that your website talks about how you help your clients; add useful resources and blogs to share your knowledge and expertise. Keep your LinkedIn profile up to date with a good photo and by asking for recommendations from your clients. As with your website, make sure the copy talks about how you help clients.

How do you use your online presence to encourage more referrals?