Last week I offered my blog reader a wonderful use of a tin of beans. This week I want to share something which I picked up at the same meeting of the Stowmarket Chamber to help us all as we develop our business and life – The Three Referral Inspiration.
I’m working as a coach at the moment, for 7 years I have been offering CGO Surgeries, and for around 4 years Kath and I have been running a personal impact course for business leaders. In each case we have had some lovely comments informally, or on facebook/twitter, or on formal assessment forms. I am proud of the work we are doing, and people seem to go away happy. The key phrase in that sentence is that they “go away”.
We capture their names, email addresses, business cards and so we can (and do) keep in touch with them about other courses, surgeries and opportunities. But from next week I am going to try the TRI – and I recommend it to you.
Very simply – at the end of each feedback form, and when people have written to us, or shared their thanks for the work that we have done – I am going to politely ask them to make us three referrals. I will ask them to either contact 3 people on our behalf, and pass on our website details, or to give us the names/emails/ address of three colleagues to whom we may have their permission to write and say we have been directed to these colleagues by our satisfied client.
What might happen – our satisfied client might say no, fair enough. They may offer one or two referrals – which is great. They may offer three or more which is fantastic. The potential new customer may not be interested – ok. But they might be…and that’s the point.
I so often feel shy about asking. But truly, if you or I had had a satisfactory experience with coaching, or a course, or anything else, would’t we want to recommend it to a friend. So why should our current customers be upset to be asked.
Now the TRI has three marketing benefits – it is a simple “Call to Action” for the recipient. It potentially offers us some lovely “Warm Leads”. And it is “Narrow Cast” marketing action because it is a focused marketing corridor from happy client to friend/colleague who could become a new customer for us.
The only thing I have to remember to do is Ask.
So here goes… if anyone reads this Blog and has experienced any of the services that Kath or I offer to creative and business individuals, please take a moment to think of three people you will contact with a specific introduction. Or ask us to get in touch with them direct – It would be along the lines of “Freda Bloggs has kindly suggested that we should contact you. She came on our xxx programme, and I hope you won’t mind this short letter/email to tell you something about ourselves” .
My personal target is a) to reach 5 business managers in East Anglia who would benefit from knowing about “The Art of Being Heard” course which you may have been on. And b) to reach up to 10 creatives or wellness/holistic medicine practitioners from anywhere in the world who would like our CGO Coaching 6-series through the wonder of skype.
Thank you for reading. I’m off to TRI
And thank you to Stowmarket Chamber for another good business tip.
Chris
