Gaining referral partners is a crucial way to help grow your business. Collecting referrals from reputable sources such as close peers can significantly help ensure that you’re getting both quantity and quality referrals. Here are 3 ways to successfully help recruit new referrals:
1. Offer a reward program
What better way to thank a peer for a successful referral than by rewarding them directly? Reward programs are successful because they give an additional incentive for people to share their potential referrals other than simply out of the goodness of their heart.
Depending on your business type, a reward could look like a multitude of different things. Some reward options may include:
- Cash
- A discount on your company’s goods or services
- Company swag
- Donations to their favorite charity
These are all great options that can easily be tailored to meet the abilities and goals of your business.
2. Partner up with another service provider
Consider partnering with another service provider that offers complementary services to your business. Creating a partnership with another provider gives you both the opportunity for growth with the support of one another. For example, an outsourced HR company would partner with an outsourced marketing team to share their repertoire of small businesses that may share a mutual need for outsourced services.
Offering a ‘package deal’ to prospective clients creates a more valuable option because it saves them the time and resources of continuing to shop around for alternatives. In this way, you both receive the business benefits from a new client.
3. Offer to share unique content
In a sense, offering to share unique content could be considered a type of reward for your referring clients. Sharing valuable information and content with your referring partners offers a reason to maintain communication and follow up regularly. You want to be sure to maintain close relationships with your referral partners to continue to utilize them as resources in the future.
“Unique content” may come in many forms. It could consist of sharing a blog post that’s relevant to their business, sharing an important industry white paper, template, or even inviting them to join a free seminar or webinar.
Recruiting referrals is a foolproof way to help grow your business but is important to be done right. These suggestions are unique ways to build positive relationships but referral partners should also be consistent peers with whom you associate.
Important tips to maintain good relationships with your referral partners include prioritizing contact with these connections, consistently following up, and writing thank you notes for referrals. For more information and support in building your network and recruiting referral partners, reach out to KelNet founder Kelli Yount for her expertise.
