 ASKING FOR REFERRALS CAN BE A BIT AWKWARD - TRY THIS
In
order to get new business from existing clients you're best best is not
to ask directly for a referral, but rather to ask for an introduction.
Asking for referrals can be a bit awkward and many clients while
"happy" with your service may come across a bit evasive when asked.
Your fastest route to generate new business is when you ask your client
for permission to either be "introduced" or to "introduce" yourself to
a strategic partner in their rolodex. See the following example:
"(First name of client), I was just wondering if you I can introduce myself to (Insert
the name of the person you want to be introduced to and this person
could be someone that your client had mentioned by name in a previous
call or this person could be their accountant) as your
(Insert your profession here, so for example, if you sell auto
insurance then you would say, "Auto Insurance Agent," or if you design
business collateral then you would say, "Graphic Designer.")?"
If
your client agrees then offer to send an email to your client to
forward to their "strategic partner" and then have them cc you on this
email. Or, you could have your client send an email to their contact
directly indicating that you will be contacting them to introduce
yourself. Your success at this strategy will come down to one factor
and this factor is called TESTING.
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