Most professional services firms have a raft of referrers, who are often their main source of new clients. However, making referral strategies work efficiently is more than just a numbers game. Could your referral strategy work harder for you? There could be many reasons why your network might not be generating the amount of work you’d like. Check out our advice on where you should be focusing your efforts.

1. We’re a creative communications agency.
NOT JUST
A NUMBERS
GAME
REFERRAL
STRATEGIES:

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QUALITY NOT
QUANTITY
Trying to build relationships with a large number
of referrers is unlikely to provide satisfying results.
The number of referrals you can give each one will
be smaller and the trade-off will therefore be poor.
Focusing your efforts on a number of KEY referrers,
passing more referrals their way and building a
deeper understanding of each other’s service
will generate rewards.

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BUILD YOUR FOUNDATIONS
Spending time with key referrers, with both teams getting to know each other and their strengths,
will highlight opportunities for referrals into the future. Understanding when and how you can
make referrals from each of your client bases will set the stage for the future.

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IT’S ALL IN
THE PLANNING
You can’t just see a referrer once and expect
referrals to keep flowing. Making a plan of how
you’re going to keep in touch via newsletters, case
studies, seminars, roundtable discussions and just
the odd coffee (or something stronger!) will ensure
you stay abreast of opportunities to refer and stay
front of mind should one come up.

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GIVE AND THOU
SHALT RECEIVE
It’s all about reciprocity. The more you
give the more likely it is that you will
receive referrals in return. It’s vital that
you train your teams on how to identify
when clients have a REAL need for a
referrers’ services. Putting a process in
place which allows more junior members
of the team to flag these opportunities
to the relationship manager/partner
will empower them to be more proactive.

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REPORTING IS KEY
Ensuring you have a process in place to
record all referrals given and received
will help you identify where there are
referrers where the stream of work
passed is biased one way or the
other. Identifying these and planning
on what steps can be taken to
improve these work flows is vital
to a healthy referrer relationship.

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THE DATING GAME
You wouldn’t go on a first date, ignore them for
months and then expect a marriage proposal.
Developing meaningful relationships with a small
number of professionals, maintaining regular
contact and sharing up to date information, is far
more likely to generate the results you’re looking for.

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THE OTHER
FISH IN THE SEA
This doesn’t all mean to say you can’t keep in touch
with your wider referrer base. Sending newsletters,
case studies and catching up at networking events
will ensure that the wider pool are still thinking of
you should an opportunity arise for them to pass
a client your way.

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T: 01483 746650 | www.somethingbig.co.uk
We’re a creative communications agency.