Get proactive with client referrals
Like most agencies, I bet you already get your fair share of referrals; clients and partners recommending your agency to prospects who might benefit from your expertise.
Referrals are great. They’re a sign you’re doing a good job. And the sales cycle is often shorter, and the close rate higher, compared to leads from other sources.
But referrals are also a problem if your agency is too reliant on them. And without a systematic approach to increase the frequency and quality of those referrals, the problem is compounded. It means growth (or survival) is contingent on something you have virtually no control over. Instead, you are reliant on whatever happens to come through the front door.
For a lot of agencies, pipelines have been decimated in recent months. Projects have been put on hold or cancelled indefinitely. So now, more than ever, you’ve got to make things happen.
Start by taking a more proactive approach to client referrals. It looks something like this:
Start by setting yourself a target
Let’s say you have a new business objective of £500K for the year. From a standing start, it can feel pretty daunting.
To make that big number less frightening break it down into smaller targets and ultimately, actions. For example, to hit your big number, you estimate you’ll need 30 on-profile leads. From there, set targets by channel, say 15 leads from inbound, 5 from outbound and 10 via referrals.
You can then set yourself a goal of, say, 20 referral requests over the year (with a view that 50% will convert to an on-profile lead). That’s less than two requests a month.
See, feels better already, right?
Lay the foundations early to ask later
A lot of people I speak to say they feel uncomfortable asking a client for a referral.
A great tip I picked up from Anthony Iannarino is to lay the foundations to ask by introducing the idea of referrals early in the relationship. Not long after the client has signed on the dotted line, explain that referrals are your most successful form of lead generation. Talk about how much you are looking forward to workinhttps://thesalesblog.com/g together and your confidence in exceeding their expectations. And that when this happens, you hope they won’t mind you asking for a referral or two.
This works particularly well if the new client was referred to you of course.
Use feedback as a catalyst to ask
Focus your referral requests on those clients you know are in a good place. You might know this anecdotally. If not, consider a more formal method for gaining feedback. I know NPS (Net Promoter Score) gets mixed reviews. That’s a debate for another day. But as a means of facilitating a referral, I think it works particularly well.
If you are not familiar with NPS, it involves just two questions, along the lines of the following:
On a scale of 1 – 10, how likely is it that you would recommend our agency to your colleagues or peers?
Please can you provide a brief explanation of your score?
Those clients scoring you 6 or below are ‘Detractors’, 7 or 8 are ‘Passives’ and 9 or 10 are ‘Promoters’.
NPS tees up your ask perfectly (for those scoring you highly) because it directs attention towards referring you, something they may not have thought about without being prompted.
As an aside, I’d recommend speaking to all clients after receiving back your score. Whether it’s good bad or indifferent, it’s a great starting point to an open conversation on what is working / not working and how you can improve. From experience, this is far more effective than a multiple-choice, Survey Monkey questionnaire, for example.
Ask in the right way
So, your client gives you a 9. They explain their reasoning. They’re happy. You’re happy. Now it’s time to ask them for a referral (maybe even two. Hell, you only live once).
Firstly, explain why referrals are valuable. You might say something like:
“We are looking to grow by working with more great clients like you. Referrals have always been an effective way of doing this. I was wondering if you might be able to help.”
Notice the complement in there. It never hurts.
Next, be specific. It’s no good asking ‘do you know anyone that might be interested in what we do?’. That puts all the onus on your client to come up with a list of names. Which is no good anyway.
Instead, do your homework. Use LinkedIn to identify relevant prospects they are connected to. Seek to understand the nature of their relationship. Just like you, they’ll be connected with people they don’t know well or have never met so it’s mindful to check before you get too excited.
If you can’t be as specific as this, use your ‘ideal client profile’ to make it clear about the types of businesses and people you’re looking to work with.
Make a good first impression
After the introduction, don’t (I repeat DON’T!) send a long-winded email all about your agency and how brilliant you are.
Instead, do some research. Share something relevant and useful.
Explain that the first step is an exploratory chat.
Nothing will turn a prospect off more than being pitched to. And your client won’t appreciate it either. They’ve referred you in good faith. Don’t make them look bad.
Follow up with your client
After you’ve been introduced, and especially if you’ve had a conversation with the prospect, let your client know. And for goodness sake, say thank you. Knowing how much you appreciate their help will go a long way. And might mean they don’t need to be prompted to recommend you again in the future.
A final word on incentives
I’m often asked whether a client needs to be, in effect, paid to help. Whether that’s a kickback, a reduction in fees and so on.
No.
If you’re doing a good job, if the relationship is strong and if you ask in the right way, there should be no need. The client should want to help. If they don’t then it might suggest an underlying issue (meaning you’ve probably got a more pressing problem to fix).
By all means, buy them a bottle of their favourite tipple to say thank you but anything more than that shouldn’t be necessary.
Photo by Christian Stahl on Unsplash.