Welcome to the Small Business Guide to Referrals.

Referrals are the secret to ensuring your business's long-term success. Acquiring new business is costly and time-consuming. When you can rely on your existing client base to spread the good word about your company, it saves you time, money, and energy.

A lot of businesses don't know where to start with generating referrals. Asking others to advocate for your business can sometimes feel awkward or intimidating. But the good news is that happy customers are usually excited to pass your name along to their friends. Once you understand how to make your business more referable and how to make the ask of your existing clients, you'll be well on your way to establishing a referral engine that will guarantee a long and successful life for your business.

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Full table of contents

1 How to be more referable

The first step to generating referrals is making your business as referable as possible. You want to make it quick, easy, and beneficial for your existing clients to spread the word about your goods or services to their friends.

2 Creating referral champions

What's better than someone who refers your business? Someone who refers your business over and over again! Referral champions are enthusiastic customers who create a consistent source of referrals for you. There is an art to identifying those customers who are likely to become your champions and to nurturing your relationship to ensure their continuing commitment to advocating for your business.

3 How to ask for referrals

Asking for referrals can be scary. You may feel uncomfortable or like you're imposing. The truth is, if you're providing great service, your customers will more often than not be happy to give you a referral or review. There are a number of ways you can structure your approach to make the process feel easy and more natural for both you and your customers.

4 Partnering for referrals

All small business owners are trying to do the same thing: generate consistent referrals to keep their business going strong. Why not partner with another entrepreneur who understands your needs, shares your goals, and can help to build your referral business? Working with other business owners allows you to share the burden and double the returns on your efforts.