Nurture Your Referrals
If you have a friend or colleague who refers you to another potential new client you need to thank that person. A referral is the highest praise a colleague can pay you and your business. When a colleague is asked for help with a particular project that he doesn’t do, and if your name comes front of mind, you are doing your job as it relates to running your business. You have been effective in marketing yourself, but more importantly, you have nurtured relationships to the extent that you are a go-to resource.
What do you do if you get one of these three types of referrals? First, you need to understand the referral type and then you need to nurture your referrals:
- A cold referral. This is when a name is passed onto you by a colleague who may possibly have a need for your services. It’s not a lead where your colleague has “talked you up” but instead more likely it was a passing conversation that ended with…”I think you should call this person” and you are that person.
- A warm referral. This is the type of referral where your name and your service or products were specifically mentioned. The referral source is likely waiting for you to contact him or her, but probably doesn’t yet have you on the calendar for a specific time to chat.
- A hot referral or hot lead. This is the type of referral that every business owner dreams of. This person has said, “I NEED XYZ product and I need it now!” This referral type is waiting by the phone for you, or anyone to call, and help solve his pain point. He is ready to buy, you just need to be in position to be the one he buys from.
Regardless of the type of referral you receive you need to heartily thank the colleague who thought enough of you to pass your name and contact information along and who has supplied you with the same from the potential new client. If the referral turns into a client you will want to reach out and perhaps take your colleague to dinner or purchase a small gift to thank him for the new client.
You need to nurture your referrals as well as those individuals who refer potential clients to you.
Do you have a way to follow up with referrals you may receive? Do you nurture the cold, warm and hot referrals? For how long? Remember, it might take some people up to two years to reach out. Will you still be front of mind then? If you have a funnel follow up system in place you will be. Do you have that in place? If not, email us. We can help.