The KiT System of Marketing:

Step 3:  How to Teach Your Best Clients to Clone Themselves

Marketing takes a specific type of client and finds a way to deliberately clone them in a nice, friendly way.  I think of it like I think of training my cats:  I make them think it’s their idea.

Referral Marketing

It’s your best approach for 3 reasons:

1. It’s inexpensive
2. It helps build relationships
3. You know what kind of clients you’re drawing to you.

The ‘birds of a feather’ principle works in business as well as in life.  We tend to attract to us people who are a lot like us.  So do our clients.  So when we find a client we want to duplicate, we want to be ready to teach them how to duplicate themselves.

It’s a lot easier than you think!

Why?  Because our clients already like us.  Think about it:  it’s extremely unlikely that the fun you had working with that perfect client wasn’t mutual.  And underneath it all, most of us want to refer the people and businesses that we enjoy, we just may not know how to.  But if you teach your clients how to refer you, you’ll be doing them a favor too.

How to Teach Others to Market for You

Following are 3 easy ways to let your clients know that you love referrals, and how to go about sending them to you.

1. At the end of a conversation you can simply say, ‘Oh by the way, if you know of someone who would appreciate the same level of quality you’ve come to expect from me, please provide me with their contact information.  I’ll be happy to follow up with them.’

The ‘Oh by the way’ part takes a lot of pressure off both you and the client.  And the rest of the statement tells them what to look for (people who would appreciate what you offer) and how to put you in touch with them.  Always ask that their contact information be given to you so that you have a way of actively following up with someone.

2. Include your referral statement in all your newsletters and mailings. 

Keeping your message in front of your clients often will increase the likelihood that they’ll remember.  Always remember to tell them how to send you referrals and what type of people you’re looking for (people who would appreciate your services).

3. Create a referral contest with a special reward for the person who sent the referral. 

If at all possible, it’s best to provide a small gift for each referral regardless of whether it became an actual client or not (even an entry in a later drawing for each referral works & is cost effective).  In that way, you’ll be rewarding the behavior you want that person to repeat, and you can announce the winner in a later newsletter.  Make sure you’re clear about the timing, deadlines, and details so that all your clients are treated fairly!

Referral Marketing Tips:

Keep in mind that you don’t have to send special offers to everyone on your newsletter list.  You may decide to send some offers only to your ‘A’ clients.  If someone finds out about it who wasn’t included, you can let them know what you based your decision on.  For example, ‘This offer was only for people who’ve done business with me in the past 6 months and referred someone else to me.’ 

Think of it like the difference between flying first class and flying coach.  The customer who pays more or does more, earns the right to receive more.  So should your best clients.  Just be clear and consistent with what the rules are, treat everyone according to those rules, and you’ll be surprised at the results you’ll see.

Remember, people want to refer you they just may not know how.  Giving them ways to do so is another way of providing great service and taking care of your clients.