To answer this question, we need to look at another question: Many marketers debate whether people prefer to be educated or ’sold.’ I’ve never liked that comment, frankly.

They argue that if a prospect needs to learn more about the product or service, they reason, then educational materials should be made available. But what about when it comes to word of mouth referrals and the notion of asking for referrals?

• Clearly, it is easier to take advantage of expanding the network you already have than adding completely new members.

Your current business is actually a web of relationships with unlimited possibilities to connect with the people your clients know. To reach these important relationships, you need to pursue them.

There is nothing pushy about asking for referrals and it’s a natural part of doing business that people expect. Remember, they don’t know how busy you are and whether you want referrals unless you are actively asking for referrals.

They key to asking for referrals is to make it a habit.

Referrals are one of the most powerful sales tools you have so don’t minimize their relevancy because you feel it’s a “dirty deed” to start asking for referrals.

Next time: How to ‘actually’ ask for the referral.

Business cards are universal. They’re a way to give details to others about ourselves, and to a lesser extent, our services. So should you use them to prospect for referrals, and generate word-of-mouth and more client referrals?

The short answer is yes. Your business card should give accurate information about your location and services in an eye-catching format, as well as state that you welcome referrals.

Your business card has limited space so every word matters. Considering that you want people to know what you do, where you are, and that you are ready to offer your services to potential clients, what’s the best way to add your referral message?

Use the A-S-I format

• Add a line that you welcome referrals makes clients feel free to spread the word about your services.
• State that you welcome referrals will also make potential clients who have not spoken to you yet feel more comfortable to contact you the first time.
• Include this simple statement on your business card lets people know you are approachable, and you want introductions.

Keep a stack in your reception room, office, car and wallet. After all, when you ask for someone’s business card and they are unable to offer it, don’t you speculate whether they are serious about wanting to do business?

I remember a business colleague once telling me, “I don’t carry business cards. I tell people I forgot mine, let me have one of yours and I’ll send you mine.”

Rather clever. But I never liked that underhanded remark.

Getting clear with “who” you want as new client referrals is paramount today.

The problem, however, is that most professionals are not totally clear on “who” it is they truly want to work with, and the type of referrals they want.

The crazy part of this is that if you’re not 100% clear — how can you ever expect your referral sources to be either? How are they going to know who is an ideal client for you!

You have to start by identifying who you want to be referred to. In other words, the types of people you desire as referrals.

What type of people do you want as new client referrals? That’s why I’m a big proponent of developing your own written, ICP — “Ideal Client Profile.” In fact, an ICP one of the most important pieces of marketing collateral you can ever have!

……………………..

Recapping:

1. Time to get crystal clear on who you want to be referred to, in terms of new client referrals.
2. Write down what these people look like, including demo/info on them on a 1-page doc:
   1. Age
   2. Locale
   3. Income/net worth
   4. Professions
   5. etc.
3. Publish this in the form of an ICP you keep in your marketing materials; Post to your website.

Action Step 1: Get clear (or clearer!) on who you want to be referred to!

Action Step 2: Create your ICP

Action Step 3: Share it with others as opportunities warrant themselves.

This includes getting referrals from strategic alliances (ex: CPAs, Attorneys, Investment Advisors, Realtors, Insurance Agents, Mtg. Brokers, etc.)

If your plan this year includes increasing your referral flow, don’t overlook the advice today.

[This article is a guest article, contributed by guest contributor Darek Daniel]

“The Words a Picture Cannot Say to Your Customers”

We’ve all heard of the saying that a picture is worth a 1,000 words, but business owners beware. Don’t take this saying literally when it comes to your advertising. Too many times business owners make the mistake of trying to be too clever or creative with their marketing pieces that their message becomes muddled or unclear to their target market.

Although you probably don’t want to use 1,000 words in your advertising, words are an important piece to your marketing and should complement your graphics and help get the message across. There’s nothing worse than spending the time and money on an advertising piece only to find in the end that no one gets it. Sure it may look great, but is it effective? Remember, there are several important messages your clients should get when they read your advertising piece.

1.  
   1. Who are you? You spent all that time on your advertising, but can your client immediately identify what your company name is? If your logo and company name aren’t immediately apparent in the design, than you have no branding value to your marketing piece and it’s time to rethink your creative.
   2. What do you do? I can’t tell you how many times this happens. Business owners get so involved in the aesthetics and the cool factor of the design that they forget the entire purpose of the piece. If you can’t tell from looking at your design exactly what your company does, why bother spending the money?!
   3. What do you want your clients to do? Ok, so you’ve sent them this great advertising piece. It has your company name on it, and it clearly states what your company does. Great. Now what? What should your clients do about it? Should they call you? Should they visit your website? Set the expectations for what you want to happen by including what’s called a call to action. This is marketing speak for tell your clients exactly what you want them to do. Literally use the words, “Call 555-5555 now for an appointment,” or “Visit our website today at www.prova.fm.” Remember to keep it simple!
   4. Why should your clients follow through? Now that you’ve told your clients what you want them to do, give them a reason to do it. Offer them an incentive to pick up the phone and call your business. Whether it’s 10 percent off or buy one get one free, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s an attractive enough offer to entice people to use your products or services.

Offering incentives also gives you another great benefit besides bringing in new customers. Incentives allow you to track your marketing efforts. Not following me? If you offer a 20 percent discount only to people who have received a certain advertising piece, then when they call asking about it, you will know where they found your number and ultimately you can track the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. Try to make sure each marketing effort you employ gets a different incentive. This will make it possible to track your efforts.

Creating great advertising pieces that draw your clients’ attention with attractive graphic design is just the beginning of a successful marketing campaign. By keeping these rules in mind when you create your pieces, you will ensure that your advertising efforts will not be in vain.

Darek Daniel is a marketing writer and branding professional for Firefly Writing, & offers weekly advertising help for small businesses at Prova.fm. For more information on how your small business can benefit from the design services mentioned in this article, you can visit http://www.prova.fm. For more resources on this topic, visit our blog at http://advertisinghelp.wordpress.com/.

That time of the year again…. year-end, and holidays.

You want your clients to tell others about you. That’s the purpose of getting referrals and being introduced to others.

Before you stuff another boring Hallmark in the mail that’s going to hit the garbage can, check out a brand new report (FREE) I just created, “Stellar Year-End Client Appreciation Ideas”

Download Here: Stellar Client Appreciation Ideas

There’s also another bonus report on that page!

Certified 100% quality content.

How do you consistently get referrals from other people… and do so in large quantity?

One of the biggest problems that people have when seeking more referrals from other professionals is simply this:

They do not look at referral gathering (for lack of a better word) from the other person’s point of view.

Here’s how you can overcome this, and generate more referrals for yourself than you can handle.

Focus on these 3 specific action steps.

Action Step #1:  Ask yourself, “Why would this person refer business to me? Why is it important to them?”

Getting referrals may be important to you. But until you fully understand why it’s important to someone else, you have a real problem.

• Ask: Why should referring busines to me be important to you?

Action Step #2:  Understand the risk-association dynamic. People avoid risk at all costs. And they do so even more in business when related to making business or personal introductions to others. They don’t want to get burned.

• Ask:  How do I make sure the person feels comfortable their referral or introduction won’t get screwed up?

Action Step #3:  Make referring business to you  easy. Think of ways that people in your network can create instant buyers for your service. Trial offer, pro-bono advice, educational discussions, volunteer work — these are all touchpoints whereby others can come to experience you and your work.

• Ask:  How do I create buyers for my services?

Best of luck with your referral marketing and building your referrals.