5 Ways to Get More Referrals from Your Professional Contacts

Okay, so, you have gathered a lot of professional contacts throughout your career and getting a certain amount of referral from them periodically. You are probably thinking that this what you can do at best. But you are wrong! You can do a lot better. You can increase the number of referrals you are getting from your professional referral network. Read on to know how to get more referrals. 

 Be Remembered

Have you ever asked yourself that how many of your professional contacts remember you to that extent to refer your services when asked? The number might shock you. You may find out that so many of your contacts have already forgotten you, let alone be able to refer you to somebody. To avoid being in such a situation you must adopt certain strategies to be remembered by your professional contacts. You have to be active on your social media channels. Not only that, you have to put some really attractive, informative and useful contents there to get noticed by your contact's time to time. Have a blog running and post your blogs on social media platforms. Apart from that, you can also offer your contacts with monthly newsletters through emails updating them with the latest happenings within your industry. 

 Educate

Educating your business referral network is a continuous process. You have to start right at the beginning of forming a referral relationship. You have to introduce you and your business with precision so that right from the beginning they get the clear idea of what exactly you do. From then on you keep educating your contacts with your online presence. Use the same tools described under the previous point like social feeds and blog rolls to continue educating your contacts. If you fail to sufficiently inform and educate your referral contacts then there are chances of mismatched referrals resulting in lost reputation and trust.  

 Give Back with Thanks

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The Bible says it all. This is so true to referral marketing as well. You have to give back referrals to your contacts to cement the referral relationship you are building. So, try to remember all the members of your business referral network as well and refer clients to them accordingly. Most importantly do not forget to express your gratitude to your contacts for referring clients to you. This is how you can get more referrals.

 Learn How to Ask

Apart from those business contacts with whom you have a specific referral partnership, you will have to ask for referrals from most of the other business contacts. So, it is crucial for you to learn how to ask for referrals without seeming salesy or cheesy. And it is not such a difficult a task as many assume it to be. Asking for referrals simply means that you are offering to help others in need of your professional expertise; that's all. So, just saying that you are there if anybody known to your contacts needs help is enough. Apart from that, be careful to have refer buttons and shareable referral links on your websites and social platforms. 

 Invite in Referral Programs and Events

Another very useful way to get your business referral network of professional contacts up and running is to arrange events and invite them to attend. These events can be of several types from formal seminars on trending industry issues to informal meet ups. Whatever suits your needs and the occasion. Through these programs, you and your contacts will be able to share your problems, views and strategies along with strengthening your referral relationships.  

 So, here’s your chance to go beyond your perceived benchmarks and get a lot more referrals from your professional contacts.