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Re: How to ask for Referrals
Lee - Excellent point. Referral is the best way to get new business. If you can get your name out there through word-of-mouth you will be able to improve sales without having to spend a lot on marketing.
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Re: How to ask for Referrals
Absolutely, I agreed with your point that the easiest thing to happen is also the easiest thing to neglect. Asking referral is one of the most easiest thing one can imagine as marketing perspective. not only clients, but even you can ask your friends to remember you once they think that you can do that work or someone need service related to yours.
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Re: How to ask for Referrals
Totally agree Lee. When a satisfied client offers to help you out with a referral ALWAYS take them up on that offer the minute they express it. Too many times, we just take those kind words for granted and never follow up on it. The more referrals you have, the better off you are as a business.
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Re: How to ask for Referrals
Great discussions. I am a member of a BNI and a graduate of the Referral Institute. I recommend to people to join a group that meets to regularly pass along referrals to one another. It is great when you nhave several dozen people working on your behalf. Additionally, get solid training. There is so much to know about refrrrals; how to give them and how to ask for them, that any time you spend on training yourself will come back to you multi-fold.
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Re: How to ask for Referrals
Thank you for the great suggestion Esaltarelli. Many professions have associations available in there local district. They usually have monthly meetings to discuss business particularly pertaining to their profession. I am sure that a referral system can be a great topic to discuss.
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Re: How to ask for Referrals
Nice and simply advice. Whenever I need business I start by simply calling my existing clients. I DO NOT ask them for business. I make it a courtesy call. I ask them how they are doing, what's new, how are their kids, etc, etc. Then they ask me how I am doing. I catch them up on my kids and then I get really excited and tell them about the new project I'm working on for client A or B. 100% of the time they are engaged in this new project and most times they will want it for themselves or something similar. BAM! New work is generated. Then you ask them if they have any business owner friends or colleges that might benefit from the same thing. Business owners are friends with other business owners!
Paul Joachim
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Re: How to ask for Referrals
Paul,
This is fantastic advice! This personal care is so fundamental to securing a happy, loyal client base. Would you mind if I update the article, add your quote, and reference your website on my blog, (upsellz@wordpress.com) ?
thank you for your input!
Lee Denmark
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Re: How to ask for Referrals
That's fantastic, Paul! Thanks so much for sharing your way of generating new business with the community. Fantastic customer care is essential to repeat business. Along with doing a great job of course.
~Berta
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Re: How to ask for Referrals
Thanks Berta. I've definitely found that techniques works. It's proven to be highly effective over the years.
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Re: How to ask for Referrals
Very simple, yet effective method. The way you ask for referrals will have a huge impact on the number and the quality of the referrals you get. Always show appreciation. There's still a right time and a wrong time to ask for a referral, master the art.
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Re: How to ask for Referrals
That's great, thanks for your advice Lee. I know so simple but over looked - I will certainly give it a go.
I am looking into how to generate more leads, I have been reading how meet up groups fail, as I have experienced, and flyers, ads, websites, etc, it is like if you don't have the funds to spend on marketing your just out of luck, it seems like.
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Re: How to ask for Referrals
marketing is a thing where you must have to invest some initial money and maybe later you can survive with less because competition is really high and if you have more better language, then advantage of that is you can survive with less money but not without money.
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Re: How to ask for Referrals
One of my friends is having an urology and kidney hospital in Hyderabad and recently like you he also thought to ask for some reviews on his business website, in Google, and in local business listings and to the surprise we found that though everyone is promising to do that no one is doing because he will get minimum 100 visitors to his hospital for kidney problems, but they do not get time to do the same, so we cannot expect more from them, of-course yes, they will refer at sometime when someone will ask, but if you expect instant refer or review from them, then it is very hard. I thought o share this here because this is a real case study.
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