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Asking your clients for referrals Part 2

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Here is the second of 2 parts of a blog sharing tips on asking your clients for referrals. What tips would you add?

  1. Do a feedback questionnaire at the end of each project including prompting for referrals
  2. Choose your moment – when your client is especially happy with the work you are doing is a great time to ask
  3. Nurture your clients e.g. send them useful articles so that your request is part of regular communication, not out of the blue
  4. Have a clear niche, personal brand and verbal business card – this helps your clients to feel clear and articulate what you do and why you are good on your behalf
  5. Use LinkedIn – it is a great and efficient way to see who your clients know and ask them to introduce you quickly and easily
  6. Make time once a month to analyse the source of your work and plan the next month
  7. Thank your clients for referrals – e.g. send them a card or buy them lunch
  8. Get yourself into a resourceful state before picking up the phone – name how you want to feel e.g. confident and access a memory when you had this resource
  9. Picture a successful outcome, a proven technique used in sport
  10. Ask the advice of someone who is skilled at getting more work through existing clients for tips – this could also remind them to ask their clients for referrals for you too.

Which tips do you think are the most important ones? What would you say are the top 3 from this post, part 2 and

part 1?:

http://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/2012/06/10/help-marketing-feels-like-a-maze/

If you found this blog useful: here is a useful related blog post: “How do I market what I do? 10 tips”: http://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/how-do-i-market-what-i-do-10-tips/

Have you read our Energise bulletin “What’s in it for them?” http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1104411157334.html

To opt in to receive future Energise bulletins, click on this link: http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1102862873131&p=oi

If you have any suggestions for useful topics, do share your ideas by posting a comment. Thanks!

Help! Marketing feels like a maze!

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Modern marketing is like a maze and it needs to be worked out, or you go around in circles!

Getting more work from current clients is a lovely way to get work. It gives you an inner glow. Referrals make sense, for established businesses and especially for new start ups.

Referrals are a great way part of marketing and they cost nothing. Yet when most new or established business owners are asked what they do to guarantee that they receive a steady stream of referrals, they are hard pressed to give an answer. What is your view on this aspect of marketing?

Asking your clients for referrals or ‘referral marketing’ is the most powerful, cost effective and targeted business development you can do. The single most important factor is that you must first expect referrals. If you are not receiving referrals from every one of your clients, then consider implementing this one simple piece of business development from today. Here are 10 tips:

10 tips to ask for referrals with ease

1. Think of your clients as a friend who you have not seen for a while. This attitude will ensure your body language is always positive, warm, friendly and trusting.

2. Ask your clients open questions to help you to understand them, their needs and build rapport. E.g. How’s life? How’s work?

3. When you speak with your clients, pick up nuggets of information about their professional and personal lives that will create opportunities for you and your colleagues

4. Keep notes on your clients; their partner’s name, interests, where and when they are going on holiday, attitude to topical topics e.g. the Olympics etc. so that you have continuity when you get in touch and a link from last time you spoke

5. Identify any limiting beliefs you have about asking for referrals e.g. ‘it is pushy’ or ‘if I was any good they would offer to’ and shift them

6. Plan a regular slot in your diary and specific location to do this task

7. Craft your own way of asking for referrals that feels comfortable e.g. via e mail

8. Remember that if you have done a good job, your clients will feel positively predisposed to help you

9. Make it easy for your clients to refer to you, be specific in what client and what kind of project/brief you are focusing on

10. Offer to craft an introductory e mail to save your client time introducing you

What would your tips be from your own experience? Any examples of when you overcame any fears and got a fantastic bit of business simply from asking for a referral?

Getting more business from current clients makes sense, even more so in a downturn.

Next week – 10 more tips to get referrals with ease.

If you found this useful, have a read of our Energise bulletins:

http://www.liberateyourtalent.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=106

and opt in to get more free advice.

 

Pondering Becoming Self-Employed? Part 2.

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Here is part 2 – more top tips to help you from  members of The Chartered Institute of Marketing. (CIM)

“I would focus on the vision and proposition of your business first and then optimize your network, and use your contacts to get referrals/introductions, generate word of mouth and help create awareness and interest in your business. You should never underestimate the power of networking as a marketing tool.”

“Do not venture out on your own if you don’t have active customers/clients in hand and then build from there. For a small start up, word of mouth marketing is probably the soundest way to go.”

 “Work out what knowledge you have that a group of people (your potential customers) are willing to pay for, collate contact data on the group so you can reach them, and then ask them how they would like to hear about what you have to offer.  The above is much harder than it sounds. Bernadette Doyle of Client Magnets has excellent advice on how to do this http://clientmagnets.com/ She has helped me enormously over the last couple of years.”

“Develop a thick skin too. That need not be as painful as it sounds. Also, obtain testimonials – be direct and ask for them if necessary – particularly if you’re offering a service and if that service is yourself!”

“Very few people get the success right first time but if you do a bit of research into what you think are your segments, talk to key stakeholders in those markets, create a ‘niche’ for yourself and do a 2-3 year marketing plan as identified above covering – external environment P.E.S.T.E.L., the specific market you are going to be trading in, your products/services, S.W.O.T. analysis, are you going to have the capital to sustain the business given the difficult economic challenges you face and a contingency plan if things start to go pear-shape? It’s not easy to go out there and crack it but you really need to ‘market’ yourself and your products well. Get out and talk to people, network, fish around in the small ponds to get known and established. Most of all, believe in yourself and your products – even when things don’t seem to be going right!”

“Be creative, follow your instincts and have fun with it. You are allowed. Everything else is a process and sensible.”

“You can sub-contract much of the marketing – even get people to help you with strategy.”

“The one thing you MUST DO yourself is take total responsibility for SALES.
It doesn’t matter if you employ a sales manager (or even director) get good at sales.”

 “The hardest thing is to employ yourself, anticipate the staff you will need and start setting out the culture of your organisation drawing up job & people specifications as you are actually doing the job.“

“BRAND the business. Plan it based on future expectations.”

 Source = Chartered Institute of Marketing LinkedIn group January 2012

 Here are some client examples of people who we have helped become self- employed.

 Becoming self-employed as a working mum:

 http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106769308248.html

 Evolving a business with changing market conditions:

 http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106770475879.html

 Turning a passion into a business:

 http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106787631322.html

 Self-employment in your 50s:

 http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106768912605.html

 Why are we useful to help people become self-employed?

  • Background in marketing, brand strategy and communication; design, innovation and advertising
  • Helping people to ‘blow their own trumpet’ is a specality  – we have published articles and done events on this topic
  • Good at coming up with insights and ideas to help you achieve results fast
  • We have been self employed for 14 years including doing contracts, freelance and marketing a service
  • Certified coach so help you focus and overcome actual and perceived blocks
  • Lots of practical tools and tips giving you more for your investment; 60 articles, 40 career guides and Energise bulletins on Self Promotion, Career Strategies and Smart living and working topics
  • Great connector of people and resources to save you time
  • Energise ‘Marketing what I do’ on-line prgramme, e mail us for details:

 rachel@liberateyourtalent.com

 Click here for details of our service setting up your own business:

http://www.liberateyourtalent.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22&Itemid=37

 Thanks!

 Rachel