Cultivating Referrals as a Marketing Strategy

Why are referrals so powerful? As warm and fuzzy as it sounds, people like to do business with those they know, like and trust. Remember: we are all people first, and business people second.

When a prospect comes to you by referral, they are more predisposed to want to do business with you. A referral is, the opposite of a cold-call-- an endorsement from somebody who already knows and trusts you.

The easiest route to referrals is realizing this principle and cultivating referrals with those who know and trust you. This includes satisfied clients (both active and inactive), business associates who know you personally and anyone who trusts your firm, and the quality of your work, enough to recommend you to others.

“Focus on the incredible contribution or benefit your product or service made possible. Never focus just on the generic commodity value of what your product or service does,” says Jay Abraham, author of Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got (St. Martins Press, 2000).

“Instead, look at each and every client as a dear and valued friend. A lifetime friend, because that is precisely what your client is to you: dear and valued friends. After all, they’ve befriended you and your enterprise; they’ve trusted you with critical and intimate buying decisions that impacted and affected their very security, well-being, comfort, happiness, or prosperity. They trust you. They depend on you.”