6 Ways to Get Referrals without Asking

Business Referrals - 6 Ways to
Get Referrals without Asking

by David Frey

Do you hate asking your customers for referrals? Most people do. Fortunately, there are many ways to get a continued stream of qualified referrals without having to go through the painful process of asking for them face-to-face.

Yes, I admit it – I hate asking for referrals – don’t you? Be honest. Doesn’t your heart start to pump faster and hands start to sweat even thinking about asking a customer for a referral? If you’re like me, you hate to impose on others. Asking for names of friends or family members almost makes you feel as though you’re selling a multi-level marketing opportunity.

Not to worry. There are many ways to get a continual stream of qualified referrals without having to go through the painful process of asking for referrals face-to-face. The secret to getting referrals without asking for them is to develop referral systems that do the asking for you. Here are six innovative systems for getting referrals without asking.

Referral System # 1 

Make a list of people / businesses that sell complimentary products and services to your own product or service. If you sell athletic shoes your list might include health clubs, running clubs, basketball teams, or podiatrists. Now create a referral program that pays referral fees for people that are sent to you by your referral partners.

To make this system more effective, give your referral partners customized coupons, tickets, or cards that the referral brings with them to your business so that you can correctly track each referral source.

Referral System # 2 

Approach charities in your local area to get a list of donors that already give to the charity. The United Way is a good place to start. Most United Way donors make advanced pledges or set goals to give a specified amount to the United Way.

Now approach the executive sponsor of the United Way donation drive and make a proposal. Propose that for every referral that is sent from their organization to your business, you will take a percentage of your sale and donate it to the United Way (or whatever charity they are affiliated with) in their name.

Referral System # 3 

Local churches are always looking for innovative ways to raise money to sustain the programs they offer to their members. Most churches would be enthusiastic about the opportunity to receive a donation from you or your business.

Simply call up the ecclesiastical leader and ask if you can meet with him/her to talk about a potential fundraising activity. Propose that for every referral they send your way, you will donate a percentage of the sales to the church. In return, the church should agree to promote your business. This same referral tactic can be done with the booster clubs of local sports teams, Boy Scout troops and other organizations looking to raise money.

Referral System # 4 

Most everyone has a barber or hairstylist they use on a frequent basis, especially if you have children. I don’t know about you, but my barber always engages me in conversation during my haircut. And most barbers and hairstylists are very happy when you give them a $2 - $3 tip. Do you see where I’m going with this?

Why not approach the local barbers and hairstylists and offer them $1 for every referral card they pass out to their customers. You might even motivate them to talk up your business by promising them a percentage of each sale that results from their referral.

Referral System # 5 

The last referral system will not only bring you referrals, but will also create a lot of goodwill. I learned this tactic, strangely enough, by Princess Diana and a local real estate agent. When Princess Diana died a close associate of hers was interviewed and revealed that Diana always carried a set of “royal” thank you notes.

Every time she met with someone she would remember their names and as soon as she got in her car she would write a short thank you note to them. The people cherished the thank you notes they received from the Princess. After hearing that, I started to carry around my own box of thank you notes.

But here’s what really will make this referral tactic take off. Not long ago I received an email from a subscriber to my Marketing Best Practices Newsletter that had this phrase under the man’s signature:

By Referral Only

By Referral Only...means: We invest 100% of our time and energy to delivering first-class service to our clients. As a result, our valued clients, suppliers, and friends refer their family, friends and work associates to us for advice on buying or selling real estate. We're interested in building strong life long relationships one person at a time.

You see, its not enough to send a thank you note. People need to know that you want and appreciate their referrals. The phrase, in essence, answers the question, “What can you do for me in return for this nice thank you card?” Immediately, I had this phrase printed on the bottom of my thank you notes and my referrals took off.

Alternative To Social Networking Google Social Networking

Alternative To Social Networking Google Social Networking:

These days, Google seems to have its hand in every aspect and facet of the internet. While Google previously did not have anything to do with social networking, but now they are building a presence in the social networking arena as well. Soon, google social networking will be the standard for social networking, as Google has become the standard for many things, including searching through search engines, paid advertising, e-mail, calendar and even web applications and web documents.

We all are aware that social networking websites are beginning to take over the world, at least online. The big social networking websites like Facebook and MySpace are excellent places where people can connect to other people and even market their companies and reach new customers. There are millions of people using these social networking sites, and businesses are beginning to use them as well. Leveraging a social networking site to its fullest potential is a great way for a business to reach out to new target markets and garner larger customer bases.

Just when you thought that the community networking thing may have completely reached its maximum threshold, Google social networking shows up at the party with a completely new project. Google has shown up at the party with a social networking site of its very own, one that is known as Orkut. Orkut may be a strange word, but it is appearing to be a serious contender when it comes to comparing Orkut to other social network websites on the internet.

Orkut has already gained a serious amount of popularity in Latin America and in Asia, and now it is beginning to make a splash in the United States as well. Google social networking is trying to become a very large giant online, and dominating the social networking market is one of the ways that this can be achieved. They want their own piece of a pie that MySpace and Facebook have been capitalizing on for a good long time. The following behind Orkut in China and Japan alone has tripled over the past year to include more than 11 million visitors in a single month.

Time is really going to have to tell when it comes to whether or not Google's Orkut will get as big as the other social networking giants like Facebook and MySpace in the United States. What is known is that Google does have a good idea of what they are doing, and they have proven themselves to be strong players in a lot of very large markets.

If Google can figure out how to offer more than what the other social networking sites are offering, then they can certainly get in on the action that these other social networking sites are already capitalizing on. If you are not already using Orkut by Google, log into your Google account today and check it out. You are already halfway through the registration process if you have a Gmail account or another account with Google, so jump online and start putting your profile together today for Google Social Networking.