In business, only some things are sales-focused. It’s the finer points that build a referral network. Start by jotting down all the touchpoints you have that aren’t about sales.
If you find the number isn’t too many (or none at all), we hate to break it to you but your referral network is doomed before you’ve started. That might be a bit harsh, but it’s the truth! No one refers you unless they like you. (It’s the way it goes.)
Build A Referral Network Simply
So what’s outside the scope of lead-generation-slash-sales-slash-your-pipeline? There’s not much new if you’ve been following this series. (But you need to subscribe to our newsletter to know about this series anyway.)
- Holidays: We’ve got Thanksgiving coming up next week take a minute to schedule a few emails to wish your client list a Happy Thanksgiving (speaking of, we’ll be skipping our usual newsletter and blog next week in observance). But this applies all year, not just when we mention it being a good idea!
- Anniversaries: Your leads are, after all, people! So finding out about their wedding anniversary shows a level of familiarity and friendliness that takes you from professional to friend with a profession.
- Birthdays: Similarly to anniversaries, wishing your clients happy birthday (even if they were clients forever ago) puts you top of their minds once more. Pairing this with visits or calls, texts, and small gifts is where the folks who go the extra mile do. (And we know that’s you!)
- Milestones: How long have you known each other professionally? It’s ok to mention a professional setting while keeping it non-transactional after all.
The best piece of advice we can give you with these is to make it consistent. Year after year! Even if 10% of your audience refers, the other 90% might refer down the line, you just have to stay in touch.
Changing Tone To Match The Vibe
Changing the tone is simple. Just don’t mention sales! It might go against what your god-awful sales coach is saying – but ask yourself, do you want to sell that aggressive style? Or a more “honey catches flies” style to build a referral network?
We love to use the “singular reminder” method for all these types of touchpoints. It’s as simple as:
“Fahad & LJ, your friendly neighborhood brand strategists”
That’s it.
That’s all she wrote.
We’ll see you the first week of December everyone – have a fabulous Thanksgiving!