Let's start at square one: finding new business. Every industry and small business is different, and I am sure that many of you have prospected on Linkedin, networking events, or just surfing the web. However, there is one universal lead source that is guaranteed to bring on more business for everyone reading this post:
your current customers.
Potential customers are more likely to trust their friends and family over any other kind of advertising, AND referred customers have a 16% higher lifetime value than a non-referred customer (that means you make more money off referrals than regular business).
So how do you unleash the Word Of Mouth beast and increase your incoming leads? You ask. When you're done helping a client, get in the habit of asking if they know anyone else who would benefit from your services.
People like to look cool for their friends when they refer them, so if there is anything you can do to sweeten the deal (10% off the referee's next purchase, extra long free trial for the referred), tack on a lil something-something.
To track referrals, you can use Less Annoying CRM or a spreadsheet!
If you’re using the CRM, you can use our relationships tool to connect a new referral to your existing customer. Check out this blog post for an exact how-to on tracking referrals in the CRM.
If you're using a spreadsheet, you can create a new column for "Referred by" to track where each lead is coming from. You can include another column for "Referral Program" or "Referred to" to track if someone has earned their discount.
Your Homework: Call up a current customer and ask them: “Do you know anyone I should talk to?” Don’t have any current customers? Start working on your existing network: family, friends, mentors, etc. Ask them if they know anyone you can help. Make sure to track your referrals.
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