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The principal of “Give to Receive” applies for your referral plans as no other can. Give something of value to receive something of value. You will be ‘giving’ your client exceptional service plus support and guidance on how to ‘give’ a referral back to you. You will receive more business from clients just like her as she refers you to associates. Remember the old adage that you get what you give. When you give your client ‘silk purse’ information and quality performance, you can expect to receive ‘silk purse’ referrals of similar caliber instead of the “sow’s ear” – barebones, or not qualified types that will be very difficult to develop from prospect into customer.
Your initial meeting to discuss the concrete engraving project is the time to begin training a client about how to give good referrals. Explain to the client that her comments of satisfaction with you are an important part of your marketing plan. Ask if she will be willing to give you a referral, reference or testimonial when the project is completed to her satisfaction. The client will nearly always agree to this preliminary request.
Beginning early avoids the need to invent a request for a referral in the rush of project completion. Plus, your client will not be taken by surprise by such a last minute request; she will have been crafting her comments all through the project. While the client will surely appreciate your quality service; referring business to you is much easier if she is primed and has time to mentally organize her script for speaking well of you.
Are you aware that the process of referral training began for the client long before your first meeting? When she read your ads, saw your work, or heard others saying good things about you, she was beginning to build her knowledge base. Your website, phone response, or professional presentation of the sale and the contract are additional effective tools in your marketing plan Your marketing kit, delivered at the sales encounter, will provide a back story about you that the client can blend with the impressions and evidence she is receiving from your other marketing tools.
Of course, to even dream about earning a referral, you are expected to deliver over-the-top, exceptional product and service. Your responsibility doesn’t stop there; the product can’t speak loudly enough by itself. Everything about your business – person, place, or item, that a prospect or customer comes near, is a contact with you and is working as a marketing tool. These contact items pool together with your work to decide your referability. The things listed above are pre-project contacts; there are more contact opportunities to come in the construction of your reputation and qualification for referrals.
Plan to shoot photos of the project in progress. Ask the client to be in the photos at every opportunity. Stage some of the shots and give her copies. Share information about the steps as you go along. You needn’t worry about giving too much away. Your skill and ability to make something work are the attraction for customers, not the basic knowledge of how these things work. The information you share becomes part of the client’s story; she wants to be able to discuss her new project intelligently. By working with the client to build her story, you are reinforcing the conditional commitment she gave you at the beginning of the project; to give referrals, testimonials and references.
Before the project even begins, you will have a package ready for the client referral or testimonial that includes:
- A format that can be applied to both written referrals or references
- Your contact information
- A brief description of your business
You will give this to the client at your final meetings for signing off on the project. She can use these things to craft a well-rounded, informed, and effective reference for your work. Even the most articulate person can benefit from an honest, simple script. If you plan to publish customer testimonials on your website, brochure or other publications, make sure she understands this. Discuss your privacy policy. Best etiquette at the final meeting will be to ask if the client is still willing to give you the references as agreed at the beginning of the project. You can be pretty certain when she has expressed approval of your work, but your extra practice of courtesy will be another shining part of your marketing.
After asking for and receiving her referrals, you have yet more responsibility. You are obligated to contact the referred prospects promptly. Your client has stepped out to admit to her associates that she knows and values you. Early contact reinforces your client’s opinion of you and moves the new prospect toward you.
Now that you have a plan in place to train your client as a resource for referrals, you can concentrate on the deal you made in the beginning. You will produce results that earn the referral. When you train and communicate with your client, plus produce quality product, you will have all of the referrals you can handle.
Your pre-planning will make the conditional commitment experience pleasant for the client permitting her to become a long-term client. Who speaks and writes about you frequently because she has had you do more than one project, each one of which has given her testimonial content featuring the high quality of your product. Who talks about you voluntarily because you are worth it.
Every day, your actions in business production and networking civility are constructing and reinforcing the foundation of reputation that you’ve been working on since you started your business. Your reputation represents you in the business community market place, showcasing your quality and vision, and attracting clients who are eager to give you “silk purse” referrals, testimonials, and references as well as more of their own business.
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