3 Ways to UP your Referral game!

So last month, I was in the market for a new pair of workout pants.

But not just any pair of workout pants. A great pair. I was looking for a dark colour, perfect stretch, thick fabric to have my back(side) while doing my squats, and comfortable material that didn’t feel icky on my skin. A bonus for something that didn’t collect cat hair every time I sat down on my couch! #thankssnowball 🐱

I like to move my body every day, and if I’m being honest, my gym gear usually does double-time as my work, home and summer evening lounge clothing too. You ladies know what I’m talking about! There’s nothing like having the perfect pair of pants that goes from the gym to a relaxing night around the fire with friends. 

So I did what I usually do when shopping online:

🖥I googled.

⚡️I IG searched.

👖I typed “yoga pants” into the search bar of my local mom’s FB group to see if any convo threads came up.

Nothing! I came across a few good companies, sure, but nothing that totally sold me right away. I thought about making a day trip to the city to try some on in person. Really, I wanted to feel them on my skin (and maybe do a few awkward bend overs in front of the change-room mirror to test ‘em out!)

But then, like magic, I found the perfect pair!

Except… they were on someone else’s legs at my local gym. 😂

Gym conversation is always kind of hard to navigate, isn’t it? Do you or don’t you? You don’t want to mess up anyone’s reps, even if they’re your friends’! This mystery amazing-workout-pants-girl was in my direct field of view, didn’t have headphones in and was chatting with an employee at the front desk. So I set down my weights and decided I’d make my move. I walked up to the desk, waited a few seconds for a lull in the conversation and casually said, “Hey girl, sorry to butt in here! (it was really hard for me not to spin this one into a cheesy pun…) So this is kind of a random question, but where did you get your workout pants? I’ve been looking everywhere for a pair like those!”

She looked back at me, smiled wide-eyed, and practically shouted, “Omg, RIGHT?! THESE ARE SERIOUSLY MY NEW FAVOURITE PAIR!”

Phew. So glad that didn’t go as awkwardly as I thought it might.

We ended up having a 15-minute chat about how hard it is to find a good pair of workout pants in our town, and she told me all about the brand, the 20% off sale they currently had on, and she showed me that they even had a secret pocket in the thigh! 

“Feel them! No really, feel them!” she encouraged me. Oh, man. These were the ones. 👌🏼💣

I practically ran to the locker room after my last burnout circuit to look up the company’s website on my phone and click “BUY”. This girl talked those pants up so much, I even paid for extra fast shipping. I needed them! Like, yesterday!

So what just happened here?

A living, breathing example of the power of WORD OF MOUTH referrals. 

• I trusted this person, because she was a member at the gym in my community.
• I heard how much she enjoyed the product, the company’s values, how customer service handled a sizing issue, and saw how kickass they looked on her.
• She had nothing but great things to say, and she totally convinced me within the first few minutes of our conversation that these were the thing I needed to have.

 

It got me thinking… do all of our clients do this for us? 🤔

Are your clients instantly becoming your #1 fan and shouting your business name from the rooftops?!

For the past few years, I’ve watched my satisfied clients become my biggest cheerleaders. Without a doubt, they share their positive experiences in working with me and my team with all their business friends. Then their friends become my friends.

When you’re just starting out, it can be hard to build this kind of successful referral network. So I’d like to give you 3 ways on how you can start UPPING your referral game today!

👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

#1

Provide jaw-dropping customer service.

To get your clients and customers talking, you’ve got to show them the love.

We all know how great it feels to be treated with one-on-one attention! These types of experiences with are usually the ones we want to gab to our girlfriends about. 

Think of ways you can create a one-of-a-kind experience for your clients. What is an example of a time you really hit it out of the park with a client or customer? 

Can you individualize and prioritize that act into every workflow for your subsequent clients? Your goal is to have them telling attention-worthy stories about you and your biz to their inner circle. Do it big, do it genuinely, do it from the heart, and those word-of-mouth referrals will be sliding into your DMs in no time! When it comes to word of mouth, it only takes one instance for you to do a great job and pull in results.

#2

Encourage social media sharing

Remember when I headed onto IG to search for my workout pants? I love searching for services or product by hashtag because I generally come across reviews and photos from real people. I also can find smaller, more bespoke companies quickly and easily. 

Do your clients talk about their experience with you online, or share your social content? If not, start making it easy for them to do so! 

Share images of YOU working with YOUR clients and you’ll almost always end up getting a repost or being showcased in their Insta stories.

You can also ask your clients to spread the love online by offering them an incentive! I have not personally done this, but I know it works great for some businesses, especially those with a product or deliverable. Maybe you offer a discount code or something else to express your thanks for their referral. Just ensure that all incentivized posts are coming from an organic place for your client, because online audiences are getting smart and most are starting to differentiate on genuine referrals and sponsored posts.

If clients had a kickass experience with you, most won’t even need this type of encouragement to get them online and talking about it with their community.

#3

You give and you get

Probably the most thoughtful way to start your own referrals rolling is to give them out yourself! Recommending a product or service to a friend can kick off a chain reaction of referrals that can lead to a ton of new business. Think locally or online. 

Maybe you take a nod from referral networks like BNI and decide to build your own local or online business network. Having this teamwork mindset lifts up other businesses in your niche or local area, and lets you hand off referrals and inquiries to each other when you are booked up or know of someone just right for the job. We’ve all got to support each other when we can! #teamworkmakesthedreamwork

I’d love to hear if these 3 tips hit home for you!

Once you’ve got an awesome referral network rolling for your biz, you can focus your energy on other key marketing efforts, like a branded sales funnel with marketing copy to convert. We can help with that!

🌟Click here to schedule a free marketing discovery call with our #dreamteam! 🌟