Our Proven Methods When Asking For Client Referrals
You are so busy getting your client's results that you forget to ask for testimonials and referrals. Are we right??
In this blog, we're going to walk you through some of our best examples on how to ask for testimonials and referrals without feeling awk-o-taco.
Shocking: It starts in the sales process. Simply ask your client if they'd be happy to give you a testimonial if you get them the results they're looking for. From there, you've set that expectation from the beginning and they'll see the ask coming!
Step 1: Are Your Clients Happy?
Firstly, you must be administering Happiness Surveys to your clients.
Happiness Surveys — What to include:
When onboarding - Set expectations from the beginning on referrals.
At the 2-3 week mark - Start to check in, “Hey Debra, just wanted to send a quick check-in. Is there anything we could improve? How are the results so far? Are you feeling happy? Are you feeling supported?”
6-week Happiness Survey - You can build out something easy to fill out—a quick questionnaire for your clients. Our favorite tools are:
Further along - Asking for testimonials/case studies
Step 2: Make the Referrals Rain
When you acquire a customer, and they love you, it's your job to get referrals for your agency. If you're doing a great job, your clients should have no problem spreading the word. Bonus! If you assign this to your client account manager, you don't have to worry about remembering to ask for referrals!
Now that you've asked them if they're happy (see Step 1 above) and they've given you a testimonial—you're in. Simply ask and/or offer something for a referral.
Option A: Discount for Referral
Hey, Betty! It's been awesome working together for the last 2 months. We're super happy working with you, and would love to continue! We have a referral program that we offer to certain clients‚ where if you refer someone to us that we feel is a great fit and we begin working with them, we'll offer you 15% off your next invoice (April 1st invoice). Do you happen to know anyone we may be a good fit for?! No worries if not, just wanted to pass it along! Thanks so much, Tom
Option B: If a discount is not in the cards for you, just ask for a referral!
Hey, Betty! It's been awesome working together for the last 2 months. We're super happy working with you, and we're always looking for brands and people just like you (cheesy, I know!) but wanted to see if you happen to have anyone in your network who may be a good fit to work with us? No worries if not, just wanted to ask! Thanks so much, Tom
If you focus first on making your clients happy, then asking for referrals— your business will naturally grow without having to stress about where your next client will come from. Sounds pretty great, eh?
We hope you implement this (and an onboarding flow) into your agency today.
Until next time,
Cheers to happy clients!
