Who Can Refer Business to You?
As you are building out your nurture marketing program, make sure you include all the people who could be referring business to you.
Spend a little time every quarter brainstorming about who else is engaged with your prospects and might be able to tell them about your products and services. Consider each of these 11 groups listed below, and you will come up with lots of people you can add to your list.
1. Partners
Start your list with business partners and other people who are already referring business to you. You definitely want everyone who is already making referrals kept current with what’s going on at your company, and you want to sell them on being an exciting, growing firm.
Consider including former partners, if the partnership ended on a positive note, as well as prospective partners.
2. Complementary businesses
Whatever you sell, I guarantee that you do not sell it in a vacuum.
• There are products and services that are sold into businesses and to consumers before they are ready for yours.
• There are products and services that are sold in conjunction with yours, as part of a complete solution or because the timing simply works out that way.
• And there are products and services that your customers aren’t ready for until they have used yours.
Find the people who sell those other solutions, and include them on your list.
3. Competitors
Yes, competitors. Those businesses are out there working hard to generate leads, just as you are. And no matter how good you are, you are not the perfect fit for every lead that comes to you. A competitor might be.
So look for competitors where the differentiation is pretty easy to find – perhaps they are much more expensive or much less expensive. Or perhaps they target a different market.
When you are including competitors, you might want to make sure the person you mail to is someone you know – someone you may have met previously and know would be open to making referrals back and forth. That means you’d be looking for someone in sales.
That can double as a recruiting pitch, by the way. Make it look like your company is growing and doing very well, and you might be able to lure away a top rep (if you want to).
Although, to be devious, there is also the benefit that seeing regular mailings from a competitor can be really annoying. If that’s the kind of relationship you have with your competitors, that can be fun too.
Of course, if you have competitors on your list, you want to check before each mailing to make sure what you are sending is appropriate for them to receive. You might not want all your latest news to go to them right away. So you might flag these individuals in your database so you can easily do that check.
4. Respected advisors
There are consultants, accountants, lawyers, and other professionals who work with your prospects. There are also thought-leaders, bloggers, editors, celebrities, influencers… Think through who your prospects respect and look to for advice. It might be advice relating to your product or service, or it might be unrelated – just someone they respect. Bringing your business to the attention of people like that can be very worthwhile. Remember, these don’t have to be people you know (yet).
5. Associations and professional groups
Are there people in associations, professional or fraternal societies, or any other kind of professional or social group who might be in a position to refer business to you? Add them to the list. People in groups like this can be very well connected.
6. Social networking contacts
You might know people through Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, online communities, listservs, discussion forums or social networks who you would want to include.
7. Customers
Satisfied customers are a great place to look for referrals. You will have to decide if you want to include your customers in this list or not. Some of your customers will be better connected than others and find it easier to make referrals, so you may want to include some and not others. You may have too many to include, and many of the mailings will not be appropriate for customers.
But when you are sending educational articles or information about new products and services, it is an excellent idea to include your customers. You want to keep them up-to-date with what’s happening with your company and what your offerings are, and there’s value in reinforcing for them that yours is an exciting business where cool things are happening.
Think about including former customers too. Sometimes you have a customer who stopped working with you for any of a number of reasons but still thinks highly of you. They might be in a position to refer you. So keep them up-to-date with what’s going on.
8. Prospects
Many businesses will include prospects who are in the pipeline in their list. It’s a great way to educate them about the value you provide and demonstrate that yours is the kind of company they want to do business with.
9. Employees
A lot of businesses overlook the value of keeping their own employees involved. If yours is a very small business, this might not be an issue for you. But particularly with so many people working from home now, a lot of people who work outside sales and marketing don’t have the latest information about what’s available from the company. If you think they might be able to make referrals, include them.
Think about former employees too. They might be working for a company that would make an ideal client.
And don’t forget prospective employees – people you are trying to recruit. Educate them about your offerings and you’ll help sell them on your company – plus they’ll hit the ground running when they come on board.
10. Former coworkers
If you or others on your team have former coworkers who might be able to refer business, consider including them too. You might brainstorm about who you know that might be a good referral candidate.
Don’t forget people you were associated with at your former positions – vendors or clients. They might be good referral sources.
11. Other
Whom else do you know who might refer business to you? Let your mind wander… By now you’re either exhausted with the possibilities or your brain is churning and coming up with one brilliant idea after another. If it’s the former, come back to this next quarter. If the latter, keep going! The more people you have on your list, the more referrals you will get.
5 Types of Nurture Programs
I talk a lot about nurture programs.
That’s because they are some of the most inexpensive and effective marketing any business can do.
They are also incredibly versatile.
Here are 5 different ways you can use a nurture program in your business…
1. Nurture prospects during the sales cycle
This is the most common way to use nurture… To take people who are serious prospects for your business – who are already interacting with your sales force – and send them something on a regular basis that reinforces what your sales people are doing with them and educates them about the value you provide.
Nurture programs of this type are typically heavily educational, since your goal is to overcome objections and teach them what they need to know to understand why your solution is the right one and why it is worth what you charge for it.
You might send case studies, educational articles you have written, reprints of articles published about your business or written by someone in your company, and articles written by others that support your point of view or explain why it makes sense to do things the way you do.
You might send links to videos of customer testimonials or demonstrations of how to use your products. You might have links to podcasts of interviews with you or key individuals in your company.
The goal of this type of nurture program is to help people move through the sales cycle faster, and to convert more prospects to customers.
2. Nurture “B” or “C” prospects
This is the second most common use of nurture programs…
These are people who are not quite ready to be serious prospects. Maybe they don’t have a budget yet, maybe they are still very early in the research stage.
They have contacted you and expressed an interest, but it is too early for them to actively engage with a sales rep.
However, you don’t want to ignore them because they are likely to buy at some point and you want them to buy from you, rather than a competitor.
Setting them up in a nurture program keeps your company in front of them, and lets them learn about your offerings in a low-key way.
Your goal here is to keep enough mindshare so that when they are ready to get serious, you’ll be on their list.
3. Nurture “ideal” prospects
This is an interesting strategy that can be extremely effective.
You identify up to 100 people who you would like to be customers.
They might be marquee customers, people or companies who are well-respected in your industry. They might be companies in an area where you want to expand and do more business. They might be organizations that are a little larger or better funded than your normal clients or just companies you really really want to do business with.
But they have never contacted you. They might not know you exist.
Well, you start marketing to them. You mail them something every month, something that educates them about what you do and what your offerings are.
Get in front of them month after month, and they will start falling into your sales cycle.
Your goal here is to introduce your company to high-value, ideal prospects and convert them to customers.
4. Nurture people who refer business to you
Most small businesses get most of their customers by referral. And most small businesses do nothing to general more referrals.
The main reason that’s the case is that almost all of us hate asking for referrals.
But it’s possible to get referrals without asking for them. At least, without asking in person.
You can set up a nurture program that goes out to people who refer prospects to you (or who could refer prospects to you) and have a little note on some of the pieces that says “We love referrals” or “If you know anyone who might be interested, we’d love to hear from them” or “Know anyone who might be interested? We’ll take excellent care of them (and send you a cool tshirt to say thank you).”
There are dozens of low-key ways to phrase a request for referrals. You can use any number of them.
But how you ask isn’t as important as that you DO ask.
Your goal here is to make sure the people who could refer business know what your business does and feel good about the quality of work you do, so they are comfortable making referrals. And, of course, to ask for the referrals.
5. Nurture your customers
You’ve seen all the statistics about how much more cost-effective it is to keep a current customer than attract a new one.
So direct a bit of your marketing budget towards making your current clients feel special and valued.
This is particularly easy if you have relatively few big customers. But it can be done even if you have thousands.
If you have fewer than a couple hundred customers, you can send a small gift once or twice a year. Not during the holidays, which is when everyone else does it. But in the spring or summer or early fall.
It can be inexpensive and clever – something with your company’s logo on it.
Or it can even be electronic, which is the way to go if you need to deliver thousands of them around the world. It could be a free ebook or tips on how to get the most out of your products…
The goal here is to make your customers feel appreciated and special.
There you go… 5 inexpensive ways to use nurture programs to help you grow your business. Which one are you going to try?
4 Ways to Get More Referrals
The vast majority of small businesses get most of their customers through referrals.
Referrals are the leads that are most likely to close, and they are usually effectively free.
So why are you not doing more to increase the number of referrals you get?
The problem is that most people are reluctant to ask for referrals. It’s true for you (I’m sure it is!) – I know it’s true for me, and it’s almost certainly true for everyone who works for you.
But there are ways to generate more referrals that are practically painless. Let’s look at a couple of those…
1. Create a tag-team referral process
The best time to ask for a referral is right after someone has become a customer. They are enthusiastic about your company, and referring someone else to you validates and reinforces the decision they have just made. But sales reps can be very reluctant to ask for a favor at this point – they just got the purchase order and they don’t want to jeopardize that.
So make it easy for them. Set up a system where the sales rep calls to say thank you and tell them what the next steps are. Perhaps you need to schedule a kickoff call or meeting. Have the sales rep say that Sally will be calling to schedule the kickoff call, and when she does that she will also be asking if they know anyone else who might be able to use your solution.
That’s easy, right? Your sales rep is not asking for a referral. She is simply saying that in the future, they will be asked for a referral.
It’s easy for Sally too. Sally can now call and go through her checklist with them, schedule the meeting, and say that as Mary (your sales rep) may have mentioned, she would like to ask if they know of anyone else who might be able to use your solution. The question is no longer a loaded one, and it is not being sprung on them.
It’s easy for your customer too. They have had a chance to think about it, and if they know someone, chances are pretty good that they will have that person’s contact info handy. If not, they are prepared for the question and can graciously decline.
2. Have a scheduled referral contest
Let customers know that sales reps will be competing to see who can generate the most referrals in the month of April. That gives the customers a chance to think about it and be prepared for the question.
Then sales reps can email or call customers, tell them they’re trying to win, and ask if they know anyone. When it’s a game, it’s more fun to participate. And when you ask for referrals in a light-hearted way, it is easier for everyone.
3. Segment your referrals
Go through the following groups in your head, and try to find one individual or company in each group that might be interested in referring business back and forth. Then go ask them!
- Competitors
- Companies that sell products or services that are typically sold in conjunction with yours
- Companies that sell products or services that are typically needed before yours
- Companies that sell products or services that are typically needed after yours
- Consultants who work in your industry
- Service providers who work in your industry
- Accountants, lawyers, recruiters and other professionals who work in your industry
Yes, the first item on that list was competitors. Almost certainly your products or services are not identical. Each of you is stronger in certain areas. Refer business back and forth in the areas where you don’t overlap.
4. Consider other touchpoints
Where and when else do customers or prospects touch your company? Can you build in referral processes there? Here are a couple more places to look at:
- Your website (refer a friend button)
- Customer service/tech support (after the satisfactory resolution of their problem)
- Email marketing or email newsletters (ask recipients to forward the email)
If you work on adding one new referral source each month, in less than a year you will be generating a substantial number of new, high-quality leads.
Subscribe by RSS
Connect with Me
-
