A key method of our survival in the business and retail world is referrals. Referrals are always nice, because they come from someone on the outside of your company who has enough trust and faith in you to refer someone in your direction.

When we receive a referral from someone, it seems like an easy way to get a sale, but keep in mind, referrals don’t come without first building relationships with your current customers, and within your business community.

There are several ways to get referrals, but perhaps the easiest way to get them is from the people closest to you, the people right in front of you. Your current customers.

Your current customers will refer you business solely on your past treatment of them. If you treat your customers with kindness and sincerity, give them good products, and treat them as a person and not as a statistic, why on earth would they not refer their friends and family to you.

The extra couple of minutes you spend with your customer to make sure that they are happy and satisfied when they leave the table should result in a few referrals coming your way.

Think about it. Referrals just for being nice.

Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to getting referrals from your customers, is to just flat out ask them to refer you someone.

There are two ways you can go about doing this;

If you have a new customer and you have just wrapped up a sales session with them, thank them for their business and hand them two business cards. One is for them, for obvious reasons. And the other is to give to a friend or family member that may be in need of your services.

Trust me, you won’t run into any objections, and this is a great way to keep your business card in circulation.

Another thing you can do with your current customers is call them from time to time. Say quarterly or every six months. Tell them that you are calling them to follow up, or to make sure that they are satisfied with your services. Then go on to explain to them that you are also calling to see if they have anyone in mind that may be in need of your services that they can refer. If they say no, than leave it at that, kindly thank them for their time, and hang up the phone.

A great way to obtain referrals is to join community-based organizations.

Here are few for you to consider:

Lions club, rotary club, coaching little league sports, Chambers of commerce, and church involvement.

The above-mentioned organizations are a great resource for obtaining referrals once you have established yourself within the group. They also give you the opportunity to build relationships and make a few friends with some of the business leaders within your community.

I always saw them as a great way to break up the monotony of your work week. The majority of these groups often meet once a week for lunch at local restaurants for an hour or so.

Keep in mind these luncheons are not free, so make sure they fit into your budget.

Once you receive a referral, make the most of it. Don’t take it for granted. Call the person immediately, or make time to sit down with them at a time convenient for them

Remember, once a person refers someone to, you are automatically representing not only your company, but you are representing the person that referred you, and you want to make a good impression.

Imagine if someone was referred to you by one of your business associates, and you never followed up with them, or just let the information sit around for a few days, or your service was less than satisfactory. Do you think that person would ever refer someone to you again? Doubtful.

So when you get a referral, make the most of it, make sure the person doing the referring knows that you are taking the referral seriously and that you are doing everything you can in your power to satisfy that potential customer. It will keep the referrals coming.

There are people in business and in sales who have built such good reputations for themselves, that all of their business comes from referrals. They got to this point through years of hard work, networking, and providing excellent customer service. Make it your goal to get to this point. Hopefully, some of the above-mentioned ideas will help. Good luck!