close
(503) 217-4114
Guides
Perpetual Clock
Request A Free Consultation
Referrals The Secret To Building A Better Business Faster

Referrals: The Secret to Building a Better Business Faster

Who are the very best new customers you get? Who is most likely to buy from you and continue being a good customer in the future? Isn’t it a prospective customer who was referred to you by another customer who is an advocate for your business?

Referrals are the best prospective customers because they have already developed some trust for you and your company. Their defenses are down, and their minds and hearts are open. These are the ideal conditions for doing business.

The most expensive customers to get are those in the “cold market,” through advertising or other promotional activities. Yet that’s where most of the marketing effort for companies seems to go. You can market much more effectively by devoting more of your organization’s time and resources to developing referrals.

You can encourage your customers to give you more referrals.

1. You must deserve referrals. You have to deliver the products and awesome service that people can’t help talking about.

2. You must ask for referrals. At the end of every sales interview, whether you make a sale or not, you must ask for referrals. When you make a sale, you have only completed one-half of your mission. The other half is to get referrals. Don’t leave the job half done. To encourage the customer to make referrals, help him isolate people in his or her mind: Is there a business associate, like him or her, who you can talk to? A customer? A supplier? Is there a golf buddy? Listen for names that come up during your conversation.

Script a brief profile or description of what you are looking for in a prospective customer. Trigger the customer’s mental search with the question, “Who do you know who… (give profile)? If he or she was here, right now, you wouldn’t hesitate to introduce us, would you? That’s all I’m asking you to do.”

If the customer hesitates to give a name, say… “That’s all right, Mr. Wright. I think I understand how you feel. Give me the name of someone you know, under fifty, who is making money. I promise you I’ll never mention your name.” “Mr. Wright, my name is John Smith. I’m in the life insurance business. A mutual friend gave me your name with the understanding that I wouldn’t mention his name. He told me that you have been very successful and that you would be a good man for me to talk to. Could you spare five minutes now, or would you rather I stop by some other time?”

The prospective customers never asked who made the referral, and some of these people were John’s best leads.

Part of our introductory procedure for new clients is to review a list of “Our Commitments To Each Other.” The final client commitment is: “You will consider referring to us at least two other business persons whom you believe would benefit from an association from us.” The expectation of providing referrals is planted at the beginning of our relationship.

3. Show appreciation. This is the real key to continuing receiving leads from a customer and cultivating him or her as a center of influence. Thank the customer for making the referral. Write a thank-you note. Call the customer with a report of the results of your interview. Make a big, appreciative fuss about the wonderful thing your customer has done. Give thank-you gifts in appreciation: send flowers, take him or her out to dinner, or give tickets to a show or athletic event.

What is appropriate considering the lifetime value of a customer for your business? Many people build their businesses with customer appreciation events. For example, marketing guru Dan Kennedy knows a chiropractor who has a monthly patient appreciation luncheon where he gives jeweled appreciation pins to patients who made referrals that month. There are different “levels” indicated by different jewels. Shades of Amway and Mary Kay! Patients are invited to bring family members to the luncheon to see them receive their award, which is given with an appreciative hug by the chiropractor. Photographs of the luncheons are posted in the reception room.

Important Questions:

  • If this were your chiropractor, would you want to make a referral?
  • How can you use this extremely powerful idea to build your business?
  • If you use salespeople in your business, do you train them in how to get referrals from customers?
  • Do you maintain a file of all customers who buy your products for follow up promotions encouraging referrals?
  • We can work with you to help build strong referrals for your business.

Back to top

Ask a Question

Find comfort in knowing an Expert in accounting is only an email or phone-call away.

We Are Here to Help

We will happily offer you a free consultation to determine how we can best serve you.

Blog

Attestation Services: Compilations, Reviews, and Audits CPAs offer attestation services as unbiased options

frequently asked questions

  • What Is A Virtual CFO & How Can It Transform My Business?
    • a. A Virtual CFO can be a much-needed sounding board, coach, and guide. Outsourced Virtual CFO is generally not just one person, but an experienced team of professionals providing a full-stack Accounting and Finance Department at a fraction of the cost that it would otherwise cost a business to hire even just one full-time CFO internally. The right virtual CFO service team, such as the one at Perpetual CPA, can deliver timely, detailed, comprehensive financial reporting, interpret the financial data, prioritize recommendations, give expert guidance on how to execute those recommendations, and ultimately give a better path to business success.
  • How can a Virtual Accounting Department help small businesses scale and grow?
    • a. A growing number of small businesses are opting to outsource services such as IT, human resources, or accounting. The benefit of a Virtual Accounting Department is that the company can reduce or increase services to accommodate current business needs. Because the service provider has multiple clients they can absorb fluctuations in workflow more easily than the average small/medium business can on its own.

      b. A Virtual Accounting Department can integrate with a company’s own accounting department to create a blended solution or provide a full-stack accounting department, including Accounting Staff, Manager, Controller, and Virtual CFO. By using a Virtual Accounting Department Small business owners don’t have to worry about hiring, training, figuring out compensation, and payroll compliance for the internal accounting team. Also as the business grows and new and more complex accounting and tax issues come up, the outsourced Virtual Accounting Department can provide all the needed expertise to facilitate continued business success.
  • What are the benefits of hiring a CPA firm?
    • a. Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) do a lot more than just crunch numbers and prepare taxes. They provide valuable expertise and strategies to help businesses and individuals achieve their business and financial goals. A CPA firm can help small businesses with management financial reporting, tax compliance, strategic business advice, and much more. Firms like Perpetual CPA, that specialize in helping small and medium-sized businesses achieve growth, can also provide Virtual CFO services, that help the business owners have the foresight into the short-term future cashflows and be able to more successfully navigate their business performance.
  • What are the best strategies for small business growth?
    • a. A business growth strategy is, simply, a plan of how a business gets from where it is today to where it wants to be in the future.

      b. Some of the questions to consider when coming up with a growth strategy are:
      i. Where will the business get new customers from?
      ii. How will the business expand into new markets?
      iii. What new products could the business offer?

      c. In reality, what happens with many small businesses, is that they generally achieve a specific level of business activity or sales and then the business growth trend flattens. In those cases, working with a firm like Perpetual CPA, which provides Virtual CFO services, can help small businesses avoid stagnation. Virtual CFO services, aside from providing timely accounting and tax reporting, can also provide valuable insight into the current performance of the business, as well as, foresight into the future cash flows for the business. Perpetual CPA Virtual CFO team helps small businesses interpret their financial information and come up with business strategies to help improve business performance and achieve growth.
  • What are the best strategies for small business risk management?
    • a. A risk management plan helps a business develop a detailed strategy to deal with certain risks that are particularly important for the businesses’ success.

      b. For many small and medium-sized businesses, the easiest way to develop and implement a business risk management plan is to work with a reputable CPA firm, such as Perpetual CPA. Large corporations invest a lot of resources and time into managing risk, which is a material factor that allows those large corporations to continue to generate billions of dollars in revenue every year. Small businesses, however, almost never manage any business risks, which is the major reason that over half of all the small businesses do not survive for more than 5 years. Generally, small business owners are not experienced corporate business professionals and lack the needed business knowledge, yet they often have to wear many hats while trying to get their businesses off the ground. In those situations, a CPA firm such as Perpetual CPA, can help small businesses better manage tax compliance risks, cash flow, internal controls, business administration, financial reporting, and much more.
  • What is Strategic Advisory and Virtual CFO? / How do Strategic Advisory and Virtual CFO services work?
    • a. When small businesses start spinning wheels, it is a good time to consider hiring a reputable CPA firm, such as Perpetual CPA, which can provide both Strategic Advice and Virtual CFO services.

      b. As a strategic advisor, the CPA firm will work with business management to improve the effectiveness and profitability of the business. They will look holistically at the business and find ways to operate the business more efficiently, increase customers through additional or improved marketing or improve customer touchpoints and service.

      c. As a Virtual CFO, the CPA firm is like a part-time version of a traditional CFO or Chief Financial Officer plus a full Accounting support team. They perform the tasks that in a larger organization would be performed by the CFO, Controller, and Accounting Staff such as preparing and overseeing the budget process, identifying and analyzing current and future trends, and developing strategies for the business growth.
  • How can timely financial visibility and management reporting help with better business decisions and growth?
    • a. A simple way to a successful business is to prioritize the timely financial visibility and management reporting as it means:
      i. Timely financial information and analysis are essential for making informed decisions, evaluating your company’s results, improving financial performance, and ensuring you are on the path to meet your strategic goals.
      ii. Management reporting is a source of business intelligence that helps business leaders make more accurate, data-driven decisions. But, these reports are most useful if they are available timely and the management receives proper interpretation of the business financial information.

free initial 30-minute consultation

    © Perpetual CPA 2023   •   Privacy Policy   •   Disclaimer   •   Accessibility Statement   •   Powered By   Designed by Dot Com Media Moguls