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Referral marketing — whether it’s from other professionals or your clients — is a lucrative, efficient, and low-cost way to get new clients. It’s actually one of the best ways to get new clients because there is a trust already built from the person referring someone to you. There are three specific ingredients to getting retained from referrals. Dan Kennedy calls this The Three I’s: Intentional, Investment, and Integrated. The first ingredient is intentional. You have to be intentional in getting the lead all the way through the sale. You need to embed with the prospective client that you are a referral-based firm and that your firm thrives on referrals and that they are expected. You should mention this in all of your emails and marketing materials. The second ingredient is investment. Know it’s going to cost something to make sure your clients refer people to you, so make sure that you’re able to invest in getting referrals from your clients. That may mean running some PRACTICE CORNER FROM THE Personal covers are incredibly effective, especially if you have a story that will resonate with your readers. Let’s say you’re a CPA who specializes in the construction industry, and you happen to meet the head guy of the association at a conference. If you chat with him, get a picture, and put that story on your newsletter cover, it’s sure to interest your readers who work in construction and will likely BY MICHAEL ROZBRUCH your clients, referral sources, and leads. The idea is to make it as easy as possible to send out your newsletter, but don’t think every part of that newsletter is set in stone. If you have an interesting personal story you want to share, by all means, use it in place of the done-for-you cover!
know who that guy is. Stories like this make you human, and that’s important, because people don’t want to do business with companies; they want to do business with other people. What’s more, when you are able to associate yourself with a celebrity, it adds to your credibility as the expert and gives your business a boost. It was fun talking with Alice, and learning that not only is he a
good entertainer, but also good at business, and that made me like him even more!
– Michael Rozbruch
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Ingredients to Getting More Referrals
kind of referral rewards program, where, if they refer a certain number of people (even just one), they receive a gift certificate for dinner, tickets to the theater or a sporting event, etc. The third ingredient is that it needs to be integrated. For example, when you came into my office, I had testimonial books on my coffee table. I had brochures, I had newsletters, and I had framed Offer in Compromise acceptance letters on the walls, sometimes with pictures of the clients. I had a video loop running in the lobby on a flat- screen TV with video testimonials from clients. Make sure you integrate testimonial marketing throughout your entire office and practice. And here’s another tip: Are you getting referrals from your staff? You should be. If your staff isn’t referring to their circle of influence, you have a problem. You may have a communication problem. So, revisit why your staff should be referring clients to you. It’s that important!
– Michael Rozbruch
888.670.0303 • 3
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