Build a Referral Engine That’s Guaranteed to Grow Your Business!

Vahid Shababi

Realities of Referrals

Pleasure Vs. Fear:

Pleasure: To connect with other people and be recognized as a source of good information.

Fear: We put the trust we have established with the receipt on loan to the person or company being referred.

Referral is a Culture!

1. Being trustworthy and honest

2. Believe in your customer’s happiness and

satisfaction

3. Don’t be boring; what is special about you?

4. Being consistent

5. Build relationships*

Use every channel!

1. Customers: They should be your family and partners in business.

2. Your Team: Your team has family and friends.

3. Other Businesses: “Give to get” mentality.

4. Prospects & Former Customers: They can still refer you!

Don’t focus on only one channel

Build Relationships

1. Respect

2. Show that you care for them; in return they will

care for you and your business as well!

3. The golden rule! Treat them the way that you want

to be treated

4. Create “Culture of Appreciation”

It Starts From You!1. The business takes care of the staff, the staff takes care of the customers, the

customers take care of the business

2. Your team will treat your customers the same way you treat them

3. Hire for fit; “hire for attitude, train for skills”

What Are They Going to Talk About?

Experience creates feeling, Product/Service does not!

• Focus on the result and the experience of your customers, not your

service or product

• They talk about the experience not your product or service

The Customer JourneyLearn

Like

Trust

Refer

Be appreciated and rewarded

Build a CommunityBuild a true community around you!

• Create customer loyalty

• Be social

• Don’t hide

• Make it easy for people to be part of your community

• Don’t underestimate your direct network

• Don’t be bias by eliminating questions and topics

• Be helpful

• Ask for bad news too

Don’t Take Shortcuts

Leverage relationship selling through education based marketing

• Authentic and sharable educational content/testimonials

• Nurturing strategies based on what benefits them

• Make it easy for them to share

• Facebook is only a vehicle, it is not the destination; own your online

community!

Your Check List

• Goals

• Rewards

• Process: follow up and update the referrer

• Tools and other necessary elements

• Measurement

Referral Journey for Your Clients

• Educate

• Motivate

• Appreciate

• Reward

A Few More Strategies…

• Ask for the referral

• Video story contest

• Quarterly referral campaigns

• Yearly “share the arts” program

• Referral point system

• Discount cards and emails with promotional code

• Staff referral contest

• 2/4/6 calls

• Referral club

Q & A

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