What’s the Best Way to Get Referrals? By Saying Thank You!

I keep hearing people talk about ‘referral strategies’ and a number of my clients have asked me recently about whether or not they should set up ‘referral partnerships’. There are lots of different ways to generate referrals in your business, depending on what you want to achieve. I have to admit that I don’t have a strategy or any referral partners, but two of my largest new clients have come about this year through referrals. (In all, over half of my new business comes from referrals.) I’m going to tell you the story of how I have found some new clients this year, to encourage you to look at how you can easily generate more referrals for your business.

A few months ago, my client Sue asked me if I would speak to one of her contacts, who needed some marketing help. She told me a bit about this person and her business, and at the time, I didn’t think I would be able to help her – it wasn’t really my area. However, I agreed to see her and gave her what advice I could. As she didn’t actually want to spend any money on promoting her business, as I suspected, I wasn’t able to help her beyond that. However, I sent Sue a handwritten card to and thank her for the referral.

A little while later, Sue introduced me to Tamara, who she had met at a networking event. Tamara was looking for marketing support for her new book, so we met up to talk about it. I sent Sue another thank you card, because it doesn’t take long to do and doesn’t cost much. At my meeting with Tamara she asked me to provide her with marketing help for six months, so to thank Sue properly, I sent her a bottle of champagne. I wanted to send something that I knew Sue would enjoy and that would properly show my appreciation. The email she sent to thank me for the bubbly made me laugh, because she said I was very naughty to have sent it, but she loved it!

A couple of months later, Sue asked me to speak to yet another one of her contacts. She did it with the caveat that if it turned into more work for me, I was to promise that I would still look after Sue and provide her with the high level of support she expected. I went to meet Don and his business partners, and at that meeting, they booked me to spend a full day with them, to help them prepare a Marketing Strategy for the coming year. That piece of work alone is worth more than many of my other clients spend with me over six months, so this time I wanted to send something to Sue that reflected that value. A case of champagne? Tickets to the theatre? I wasn’t sure what she would like most, so I called her business partner and asked him. “You won’t go wrong with John Lewis vouchers,” Graham told me. So a £100 John Lewis gift voucher was sent to Sue. This time, her reply email told me how she’s returned home from a tough day to find a handwritten envelope with the most wonderful surprise inside, which turned her day around! Don and his partners have since asked me to provide them with an ongoing marketing support service – they are now one of my biggest clients.

And all that came because I sent one simple thank you card for a small referral that didn’t even turn into work!

When was the last time you properly said thank you for a referral? What will you send the next time you receive one?