Customer referrals – top tips

Here is the best advice we’ve come across:

Make sure your customers are happy first!
Start asking for referrals – and keep a record of each one
Set targets for how many referrals you will ask for each week/month
Make a note each time you get a referral – what did you do or say that got you that referral?
Work out how many referrals you have to ask for before you get one. Then you know how many you need to ask for to get the level of business you want. You can also learn from successful requests to improve your success ratio.
Ask for an action not a contact. Don’t ask for name, phone and email. Instead, ask them to contact the prospect and let you know when they have done it. Be clear what you’d like them to say and confirm they will be comfortable saying it.
Thank them! Both when they agree and when you get a referral, make sure you thank them – even if you don’t get any business from it. If you don’t thank them, the recommendations will soon dry up.
Treat the referral with the value it deserves. The worst thing you can do is get a referral and let it slip through the cracks. You could lose a great opportunity, but worse, you will lose the respect of your referrer. And you won’t hear from them again!