a well taken-care-of customer will give you thousands of dollars in referrals.

This applies to almost any business—personal training, real estate, finance, coaching, and even funeral homes. (Think about it. When people choose a funeral home, where do they go? The Yellow Pages or to a trusted friend?)

Referrals are the best way to get clients for 99% of businesses because…
They are no or low cost, as you’re working with warm leads and asking someone else to make introductions. You don’t have to invest a lot of time or money into getting referrals.They are “warm leads,” and are easier to convert to clients because they come via a reliable recommendation and pre-seeded trust.They often lead to an immediate sale, cutting out the sometimes long, drawn-out process of courting cold audiences via advertising.
 

Step 1: Create a spreadsheet to track your referrals
This doesn’t have to be fancy; just create a simple spreadsheet in Excel and keep it on your desktop.
Step 2: Send a gift or offer commission

Using your loyal customers as a starting point, spark the referral conversation with a gift.

Step 3: Say thank you

There’s no question that your gift or commission will let your customer know you appreciate them.

Step 4: Give them the referral script

After thanking your client and graciously asking for a referral, you need to make their follow-through easy.

Step 5: Keep asking

Part of the success of the “culture of referrals” is persistence. A one-time gift is nice, but it’s not enough.

People who should listen to this show are entrepreneurs